Bald Eaglecam

Mid-April Update

2011-04-18T10:00:00.002-04:00

Friends,

Many thanks for all of your posts and questions! As many have alluded to we have been observing some unusual behaviors at this nest over the past few weeks. The short of it is that despite our great view of this nest it can be very challenging to determine exactly what is occurring at the nest and around the area of the nest.

It is also very difficult to identify individual eagles when birds are not marked with unique bands or tags.

As for those of you who are confused or wanting clarification about the 'rampant speculation' on the chat bar on ustream. My apologies. I would recommend that you join us on the BRI online community located at this link http://briloon.ning.com/, rather than the ustream chat bar. This is a great place to catch up on happenings and post photos of your observations.

Additional response to comments:
(1) Eagles have not nested here since 2007.
(2) We will not be able to determine the outcome of this nesting effort until we observe chicks or fail to see chicks by May 1 (realistically, this is a late hatch date based on March 24 egg-laying).
(3) The possibility of an eagle laying an egg several weeks after a first clutch is very low but as a biologist I have learned that nothing is impossible.
(4) It is not unusual for eagles to tend a nest past the likely hatch date even when the eggs are no longer viable.

I hope this clarifies some of the questions that you have put forth. I think that it is important to recognize that observation and not speculation is the first step of the scientific process. I know that I remain at the observational level and appreciate the opportunity to learn what will happen next. i remain cautiously optimistic.

Have a great day and enjoy the webcam.

Cheers,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Turmoil at the nest!

2011-04-01T11:21:00.007-04:00

An eagle turns egg(s) at the NextEra Maine Eaglecam1

What a week it has been for those following the activity on the NextEra Maine Eagle Cam 1! Here is a quick summary:

Monday: Concern over the eggs being left for nearly an hour on a cool, windy day.
Wednesday: Chainsaw sounds and what appeared to be a spring cleanup occurring in proximity to the microphone and nest (along with some whistling at the eagles by a person).
Thursday: An attack on the incubating male by an eagle. Watch a video of the attack posted to the online community by laurad.
Friday: Late season nor'easter is dumping heavy, wet, snow across Maine and the webcam is snowed in.

I think that all of this activity provides a true picture of what eagles face as they establish a territory and lay eggs to rear young. And that is just that start of the long road that eagle offspring face as they develop over the course of 8-12 weeks until they are prepared to leave the nest for the first time.

I do hope that we can all keep a positive spirit amid the challenges that these particular birds are facing now. Many thanks for all the posts and for more frequent updates I would direct you to our online community where there is a discussion forum. You might also seek us out on Facebook. Please learn more about eagles and BRI's research.

Responses to blog posts:

My apologies for not posting your comments sooner. We have to manually review comments because we receive so much spam here. Thanks for all your comments

Are these the same eagles that nested in 2006 and 2007?

Because the eagles at this nest are not individually marked there is no sure way of know if these are the same eagles that have used this nest in the past my sense is that they are not. Observations over the past few years suggest that the nest may have been overtaken by a new pair or at least a new female in 2009. This is somewhat speculative but members of the online community have provided evidence (dark spots at the base of the females tail) to support this.

What about the eagles at the BRIeaglecam-Central Maine whose nest was destroyed during a storm last fall?

I am pleased to report that in February a nearby resident did report that she had observed eagles carrying sticks in the same direction toward an area about a quarter of a mile from the original nest. Then just two weeks ago I gott another message indicating that the birds were observed perching in trees within 100 yards of there old nest and carrying sticks. I am hoping for another report soon.

That is all I have for now. Hopefully this snow will clear and we will have a view of the nest soon. Please keep in touch.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
Outreach Director
BioDiversity Research Institute

We have an egg!

2011-03-25T15:04:00.003-04:00

Greetings and welcome to the 2011 nesting season! I have a few items to share here. First, I am happy to announce that we have received sponsorship by NextEra Energy Resources for Maine EagleCams. This is wonderful news welcome support!

Most importantly, I am very happy to report that after three years of no eggs being laid the eagles at the BRIeaglecam1 nest have laid an egg. Courting behaviors began as early as January and were periodic. On March 23^rd a heavy snow fell for a short period in the afternoon and both birds were observed at the nest. They were touching bills. The following day the egg was laid. Eagles typically lay two eggs but may lay up to three. Eggs are laid about each 48 to 72 hrs.

A bit of history of this nest

BRI began monitoring this nest in 2006 and it has been a tumultuous journey. In 2006, the nest produced 2 chicks, in 2007 the chicks died during a storm event in April. During our monitoring from 2008, 2009 and 2010 we observed no nesting but a great deal of activity in the nest including what appeared to be territorial disputes at the nest. While there are many reasons why birds may not nest, a ‘third bird’ can be a disturbance that disrupts the nesting cycle. More info…

A bit of information about this pair

Although it is very difficult to tell the male bald eagles from the females-females are larger. In addition, although these birds are not banded to reveal their identity, close observations by members of BRI’s online community have documented a dark patch near the base of the resident female’s tail. This appears to be a unique characteristic that has remained distinct for two years and this characteristic might allow us to identify an individual bird. There has also been speculation that the resident eagles at this nest may have changed over the past five years.

This nesting event is sure to bring joy to many eager followers of this webcam. Please join in the conversation at BRI’s online community where this blog is cross-posted. Also, you can find us on facebook, twitter, youtube, and of course at our website www.briloon.org. We hope to maintain this blog each week or two weeks so be in touch with questions.

Many thanks and happy spring!

Patrick Keenan

Outreach Director

BioDiversity Research Institute

No nesting this year?

2010-04-22T16:15:00.002-04:00

Hi All,

Despite frequent visits hopes for nesting are diminishing as the season progresses.

Regarding a few questions that we have received:

(1) It is not possible to determine whether these birds are the same as last year or in years past. Some webcam watchers are confident in their ability to identify individual eagles based on certain feather pattern characteristics. These methods should be used with the most caution.

Notably on the BRI eaglecam2 the female of the pair is in fact banded and is likely the same bird that nested at this site last year.

(2) Based on sounds I do suspect that there has been some activity or a repair of some type near the microphone at this site. I've not been able to make a visit personally but do know of nearby buildings. It is important to note that the microphone is located some distance from the nest. Based on the behavior of birds at this site in the past it seems unlikely that limited sound and ground traffic would deter birds from using this site. However, it is not possible to completely rule this out.

Thanks for the posts and keep your fingers crossed for a late season nesting attempt.

Until Next Time,

Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Eagle visits but still no nesting!

2010-04-08T13:21:00.003-04:00

Well, the subject line of this post pretty much sums it up. Although we have seen the eagles on a regular basis the birds at this site are not showing the signs of nesting this year. Many have put forth suggestions as to why they might not be nesting and unfortunately it is very difficult, if not impossible, to know for certain why these birds are again not nesting.

Last year, their nesting efforts waned directly after the arrival of a 'third' eagle which interrupted the nesting pair fairly early in the season. We've not seen any antagonistic interactions yet this year but other eagles have appeared at this nest on occasion over the past few months.

One possibility is that the birds are using this nest as a 'dummy' nest and nesting elsewhere. I have no knowledge of an additional nest but again this is difficult to rule out without a thorough survey of the area surrounding this nest or possibly aerial surveys.

Additionally, it is well documented that individual eagles do not necessarily nest every year. Perhaps these birds are simply taking an 'extended break' from nesting due to any number of reasons such as food supply, territorial disputes, body condition, or the condition of the nest or nest tree.

We will have to keep watch as the birds may still nest late but a general rule in coastal Maine is that if the birds do not lay eggs by early May it is unlikely that they will nest.

Until next time,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Catch up with the activities in our online community!

2010-03-23T16:08:00.003-04:00

Hi All,

I've just reviewed some recent posts and suggestions. I would really like to direct some of you to our online community where people post images and videos from the BRI eaglecam...including an excellent and recent video of a mating attempt . I have also, per request, returned the view to show more of the tree. I plan to leave it in this view for a spell.
have a great day and enjoy BRI's wildlife webcams.

Patrick Keenan
Outreach Coordinator
BioDivrsity Research Institute

Mating attemps but still no eggs!

2010-03-19T14:05:00.002-04:00

Hi All,
This eagle pair continues to make visits to the nest, especially early morning visits and late evening visits (like the one shown above). I have have a number of questions related to whether these eagles may be using a different nest site. I don't know for sure. I have no reports of other nests in the area that are in use. That said, anything is possible. One good sign is that the eagles have displayed several mating attempts over the past week. Matings tend to occur near the nest site but do not always result in an egg and nesting effort.

So, let's cross our fingers and keep watch on this nest for additional signs of breeding, such as bringing soft grasses to line the nest bowl with.

Until Next Time,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

To nest...or not to nest

2010-03-11T11:21:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone,

Thanks for all your comments on to our blog and for following these birds. I am once again a week late with my post. Above is a very nice photo from this morning captured by JO of our online community. It shows the pair perched at the nest. Several of JO's photos show the size difference between the male and the female. Female eagles are larger than males and for a known nesting pair that can be a good way to differentiate the individuals.

This pair is showing signs of breeding. They have mated several times during the past week and they have been bring sticks to the nest. Has anyone seen these eagles bringing softer grasses to the nest?

Only time will tell whether these eagles will nest this year. In previous years eggs at this site were laid on March 5th and on March 6th which is probably on the early side for nesting by Maine eagles on the coast. If the birds do intend to nest this year we would expect to see activity and the visits by the pair continuing to increase.

Hope you are all well and please keep up with your posts and questions and comments.

Cheers,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

A time for renovations...

2010-02-23T15:20:00.003-05:00

Hi All, I am sorry for the long duration between my posts. As you may know the eagles have been visiting the nest infrequently since my last post. They seem to be both adding sticks to the nest and using the nest as a feeding perch.

In past years eagles at this nest have laid eggs as early as the first week of March. Currently, these birds do not seem on track for that date but nesting is still certainly a possibility at this site. Notably Maine is anticipated to receive a wintry mix of rain, ice and snow on Thursday and Friday. It will be interseting to see how these birds weather the storm.

Please keep in touch with your posts and questions to help direct the content of this blog.

Until next time,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Intruder Visits on 2/5/10

2010-02-11T14:58:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

Well, it is nice to observe these continued yet irregular visits. Perhaps this weeks biggest event came on February 5th when an immature bird visited the nest and caused a bit of a scuffle with what was likely one of the resident eagles. There are images posted to our online community of this interaction.

Notably, interactions like this one are not uncommon. Immature eagles often explore large areas in their early years in search of an open nest site where they can establish a territory. Adults that are already established at nesting territories are often intolerant of these visitors.

Some may remember the fierce interactions that we observed last year between resident birds and 'visitors'. Such interruptions may lead to eagles giving up on using a nest site for a season. Please feel free to post your comments, questions, and observations. We moderate comments on this blog so that we can spare you all a high rate of spam comments and solicitations which are sometimes offensive.

Keep in touch and visit www.briloon.org for more information about our other research projects and results. Thanks for enjoying

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

First mating observed and recorded!

2010-02-04T15:05:00.002-05:00

Hi all, I am happy to say that along with the restorations to the nest that we have observed we have also witnessed the first mating attempt of the season by these eagles. CLC a members of our online community has posted a video link of the mating attempt. Thanks CLC!

Obviously, this is a good sign of the season and of the birds intention to nest this year. Let's keep our fingers crossed for continued activity. Thanks for your posts and please keep up with your questions.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Welcome to a New Year

2010-01-28T18:10:00.003-05:00

Hi All,
I am so happy to report that we have have been seeing frequent visits by eagles at this nest recently. These observations are a good sign that the birds are preparing to nest. Yesterday, in fact, both eagles visited and continued to move sticks around and prepare the nest bowl. Earlier in the day we captured this photo of a single bird making some restorations to the nest.

Please send along your questions and observations to help enrich the dialogue on this blog as we get ready for what will hopefully be an exciting year at this nest.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Yesterday: An eagle eats and a raven visits

2009-10-28T13:35:00.004-04:00

Hi All,
I am very happy to report yesterday's visit. An eagle fed for sometime and was visited by a raven that crept right into the nest-bowl presumably scavenging for food morsels.
Others have posted many photos on our online community site at: please visit us there for more details. We plan to post here once a week.

Thanks and all the best!

Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

October 'nestorations' continue.

2009-10-21T13:32:00.004-04:00

Hi All, many thanks for your comments regarding your observations of eagle activity at the nest. This has been a common trend for this pair and a good sign that they are considering nesting. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

As you can see even without eagles the view is great.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Image adjusted

2009-09-30T14:36:00.002-04:00

Hi all,

Well, it has been a slow year at the nest but nice to see at least the infrequent activity that we have observed. I've been able to restore the still image on this breezy late September day. Enjoy the webcam and please visit us at www.briloon.org to learn more about the work that we do.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Back up!

2009-07-24T19:57:00.000-04:00

Hi All,
Well, we've been back up for about a week. Please continue to enjoy the sights and sounds of Maine.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Camera Down!

2009-07-13T11:03:00.003-04:00

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you all know that this last storm before the Fourth of July has crashed our camera. We hope to be back up and running soon. I'll post when we are live.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

No nesting this year.

2009-06-25T17:28:00.002-04:00

Hi all,
Many thanks for your posts. I thought I had set this blog to automatic update. Unfortunately, the birds are not nesting this year. It is nice to see eagles and other species dropping in for a visit. Perhaps next year birds will nest here again. It is a lovely nest site.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Become a BRI Webcam Member

2009-04-02T19:02:00.001-04:00

Greetings all!

BRI is very excited to announce the launch of a membership program.

Please click here to become a member

Through this program and your support we hope over the nesting season to raise $65,000 to ensure that we are able to keep these systems running free for everyone.

There are seven different giving levels with the membership and they each have unique and exciting thank you gifts. All members will be automatically signed up for our electronic updates and will receive a BRI sticker--the e-updates will be free for all viewers. The membership levels are.

1. Fledgling, $25: this is for kids and students. Members at this level will receive an eagle mobile and a BRI sticker.

2. Finch, $35: with this membership level you will receive a BRI sticker.

3. Kestrel, $60: you will receive a BRI pin.

4. Osprey, $100: you will receive a 1G memory stick for your computer loaded with high resolution video footage from our webcams and a beautiful eagle screen saver for your computer. Once you have loaded the videos and screen saver onto your computer you can use the memory stick to transfer files and back-up files on your computer.

5. Loon, $250: you will receive a signed copy of Dr. David Evers (BRI's Executive Director) and and Ms Taylor's (former board member) book on loons.

6. Peregrine, $500: you will become one of BRI's top supporters with a Peregrine membership. You will receive a signed copy of Dr. Evers and Ms. Taylor's book "Call of the Loon", our webcam e-update, and BRI sticker.

and

7. Eagle, $1,000: Your exceptionally generous support allows BRI to conduct its cutting edge wildlife education and research. You will receive a quarterly letter from BRI's Executive Director, a signed copy of the book "Call of the Loon", webcam e-updates, and BRI sticker.

Please consider become a webcam member. Last year we were fortunate to receive several one-year foundation grants to expand our program.

We are working on setting up two more loon cams, and potentially a catbird cam. Today we were talking about potential plans to set up ten more cams in Maine as well as some in some tropical site.

Your support will ensure than we are able to continue our current work and greatly expand.

Thank you.

Wing

Fingers Crossed!

2009-04-02T16:58:00.002-04:00

Hi All,
As you may know eagles are nesting on our eaglecam2. So far things are looking a little slow at this nest. The birds are using it more as a feeding perch than a nest. We do still have time. The latest egg laying by Eagles is May 6th--so let's keep our fingers crossed.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Lots of Activity

2009-03-15T18:47:00.002-04:00

Hi All.

I just wanted to post here quickly. What a lot of activity we have had at the nest! A potential second female and a visiting immature and several disputes. All of this has not left us an egg in the nest but we all remain hopeful.

If you are away from the cams check back in by logging into our on-line cam community to review what you may have missed. The site is located by clicking the button below our image view at www.briloon.ning.com. Have a great day!

All the best,

Patrick Keenan

BioDiversity Research Institute

February Storm!

2009-02-19T09:43:00.002-05:00

Hi all, We are storming in Maine! I am sorry to say that some of your posts were lost from the blog while I was reviewing them. I am very sorry for this slip of the cursor. The good news is that the eagles have been active at the nest and have shown many signs of pair bonding and nesting. Today the cam is snowed in but as someone pointed out temps are expected to increase and will hopefully clear up our view.

As for a question about light pollution. We use an infrared light and infrared setting on our camera to illuminate our nest at night. IR light is not detectable by birds and does not contribute to the light pollution that you were inquiring about. I hope that clarifies your concern.

Also, I would like to point you to our on-line community site at www.briloon.ning.com, sign in and catch up on all the happenings at the nest.

Have a great day and thanks for enjoying the cam!

Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Breeding efforts on the way!

2009-02-07T09:21:00.002-05:00

Thanks for visiting and for all your comments and questions. We are currently continuing to adjust the image of this camera and nest. We anticipate that there will be some required shut downs in the next few days. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience and look forward to getting this system functioning optimally in the early part of next week. Thanks for your patience and cross your fingers that this pair breeds this year.

Press Release

2009-02-04T14:56:00.001-05:00

Two New Webcams Capture Maine’s Birdlife
Additional online videos, blogs, and social networking help viewers interact and learn

GORHAM, Maine, February 4, 2009—BioDiversity Research Institute today announced the expansion of its innovative wildlife education program with the release of two new webcams that will capture live video of nesting Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles. Simultaneously, the institute has also launched online video blogs, feature videos, and a social networking site dedicated to discussing the webcams and wildlife science.

See this interactive online world at www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife.

The new webcams will be added to BioDiversity’s already popular eagle, loon, osprey, and finch cams. Through cutting-edge technology, the new cams—both with two perspectives—will bring to people’s computers live, 24-hour-a-day video and audio of one of Maine’s 23 nesting pairs of Peregrine Falcons and a Bald Eagle’s nest with a long history of use.

“Over the past few weeks we have seen signs that the birds will nest at both the old and new eagle cam sites,” says Education and Outreach Coordinator Patrick Keenan. “And the Peregrine Falcons are already checking their nest site. We’re excited to bring the intimate moments of these birds into homes and classrooms around the world. It’s a great way to learn about wildlife.”

BioDiversity Research Institute has had great success in previous years with its existing cams, drawing national media coverage, hundreds of dedicated bloggers from around the world, and students watching from classrooms across the country. Today BioDiversity connects all these dedicated viewers by launching its online community site (www.briloon.ning.com) to allow webcam watchers to discuss their observations, ask questions, and learn from wildlife experts. Biologists from the Institute will provide community members with video blogs on wildlife topics ranging from nest building to contaminants as well as feature videos taking people into the world of field biology.

The webcams are provided free of charge for viewers around the world with collaborative support from Next Era Energy Resources, Kids in the Nest, Bank of America, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The mission of BioDiversity Research Institute is to conduct collaborative ecological research, assess ecosystem health, promote environmental awareness, and advance science-based conservation policies.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
Biodiversity Research Institute

February Approaches

2009-01-27T10:54:00.003-05:00

Well, I see that many people are using the www.briloon.ning.com site. We've had many observations of eagles at the nest over the past week, including some courtship behaviors. It is exciting to see activity at the nest increasing as we await another winter storm and the arrival of February.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan

BRI launches a discussion forum website!

2009-01-16T12:12:00.006-05:00

Hi All,
Many thanks for all of your comments and questions. This short update is to let you know about BRI's new discussion forum located at the following link: http://briloon.ning.com/. This will be a great venue for discussing observations of BRI's wildlife webcams, posting videos, and keeping up to date about what is happening at BRI. Please follow the link and sign-up to join our webcam discussion groups.
Wish you all the best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Nest Site noise

2009-01-14T11:10:00.002-05:00

Hi all,
Thanks for all the posts and information about sounds that the microphone is picking up. I appreciate people's concern for the nest site and am sorry to hear about any unexpected, inappropriate language. The microphone is quite sensitive and does pick up audible sound from a distance of several hundred yards. That said, although I have not visited the site recently, I am not aware of any building projects in the area. Fortunately, I am planning a visit to the nest site to replace the IR light. At that time I hope to find out more about our background noise and will report back.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

2009!

2009-01-06T16:26:00.003-05:00

Hello All,
Just a quick note to make sure that our time stamp is accurate as I see that my last post seemed to carry an errant date.
Also, I am excited to update bloggers that we are working toward the release of a second--yes second--eaglecam. This has been in the works for some time and we anticipate a cam release during early February. So far the images are looking great!
We also anticipate the release of a Peregrine Falcon camera at about the same time. Without doubt I will keep you posted and cross your fingers for our next endeavors.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
p.s. Facebookers please become a fan of BioDiversity Research Institute we now have a fan page!

Staying alive during storms.

2008-12-22T14:07:00.007-05:00

Hi All, I know that there has been a great deal of severe weather lately (and more on the way)and thought I could address some very good questions about how eagles handle these 'hard times'. Fortunately, birds are equipped with feathers--lightweight and highly effective insulators--that help them deal with the cold. There are several types of feathers. For our discussion we are concerned with contour feathers and downy feathers.

Contour feathers include the flight feathers and outer body feathers, which provide aerodynamic shape and wind and rain protection. Importantly, birds increase the water resistance of these feathers by preening and spreading oils on their feathers from a gland, called the uropigial gland, located at the base of the tail.

Downy feathers are the feathers underneath the contour feathers that are specifically adapted for providing insulation. Birds are capable of controlling each and every feather on their body. This allows them to 'puff up' during colder weather and increase amount of insulation around their body.

Along with this tremendous ability to self-insulate, birds can increase their metabolic rate and burn fat stores to generate heat. Due to this capability, it is generally considered that a lack of food, rather than extreme cold, is what poses the greatest problem for most birds. If a bird can keep eating then it has a continuous supply of energy to use for generating heat. In light of this, birds in good condition should be able to weather short periods of stormy weather by 'sitting tight'. Longer periods of bad weather can pose serious problems for finding food and maintaining energy requirements.

Enjoy the winter, and keep an eye on the eagles.

Snow and Food!

2008-12-09T09:29:00.002-05:00

Hi all,
I see that one of the eagles is tearing apart a carcass at the nest this morning. It is also snowing a bit. The weather is predicted to be dismal to miserable for the next few days so this could be an important meal for this bird. Thanks for all your posts and I look forward to hearing from you.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Stream recovered!

2008-12-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

Hi All,
I have reconnected the stream of the Eaglecam. We are up and running on a beautiful day in Maine.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Snow on Nest!

2008-11-22T14:51:00.002-05:00

At last this cold snap has brought us snow! Some nice views of the nest with a dusting of snow. Does anyone have dates of the earliest snowfall in previous years? I look forward to seeing eagles at the nest in the snow. Enjoy!
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversty Research Institute

Cam struggles...

2008-11-14T09:10:00.002-05:00

Hi all,
Many thaks for posting the eaglecams finer and funnier moments. I would like to note the bredth of perspectives that we all have as we view this eagle nest. I welcome you to post more great moments as you see fit. As for cam struggles: J in S.P.ME we keep the cam live all the time which makes this problem strange but others have also experienced this. I usually connect fine in the morning at home but on some days I get only audio and no video. I have generally considered this to be an internet issue of some sort that resolves itself (or is beyond our scope). I will look into it a bit more and see if there is something that we can do about it. Perhaps others have found solutions of their own to this problem. Wish you all the best. Am I correct that we are streaming at 9:23 am on November 14th? No problems?
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institiute

Webcam perspectives!

2008-11-10T10:58:00.002-05:00

Well, although there has been regular and consistent daily activity at the nest of late it is still a slow time of year at the nest site. I thought that because times are a little slow it would be a good chance to reflect on some of our favorite moments observed on the webcam. I welcome short writing segments that describe your most interesting or curious behavioral observations of the eagles? Many thanks for your contributions.

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan

Cam is up!

2008-10-27T11:43:00.003-04:00

Check out a beautiful day in Maine!

Cam Down...

2008-10-27T09:21:00.003-04:00

There was severe weather this weekend throughout Maine. I am working at getting the cam back on-line.
Best,
Patrick Keenan
Biodiversity Research Institute

Eagles on the nest

2008-10-20T16:35:00.002-04:00

Well, what a weekend! Not only was the weather beautiful but the eagles were very active at the nest. Many thanks for posting the videos. I still find the breadth of eagle vocalizations amazing--each with a different meaning and circumstance for use. I must also comment on the value of being able to see the bird vocalize and observe its postures and gestures as it does so. Enjoy the evening and keep posted.
All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Cam is reconnected.

2008-10-17T10:10:00.002-04:00

Hi all,
The camera was down yesterday. You should now find that the image has returned and shows a beautiful day here in Maine.
All the best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

White object in nest

2008-10-14T13:00:00.004-04:00

Hi All, many of you probably observed the white object that was visible in the nest for about the past week. It is no longer visible as of about 11:00 am this morning. I think this is a great chance to point out that many different items, natural and unnatural, find their way into eagles nest. In visits to nearly 200 eagle nests in Maine, New Hampshire, and New York BRI scientists have observed unnatural 'trash' in roughly half the nests. The wide variety of items found range from paper wrappers to fish hooks and line to pieces of plastic. The item that was brought to the nest on October 8th appears to be very lightweight as it waffled int he wind. I could only guess at what it could be. However, it is notable that the eagle spent quite a bit of time 'working' the object and appeared to tear it to smaller pieces so it is possible that it was a prey item of some type. It would be interesting to hear about anything specific that you all see that might help us figure out what this item was. I recommend watching the video at the address that GG posted for a good look at the object and the eagle manipulating it.
All the best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Bald Eagle nests are large!

2008-10-06T12:06:00.003-04:00

Hi All, I would like to respond to a good question about the size of Bald Eagle nests. As you might imagine nests vary in size. An average nest ranges from 1.5 to 1.8m (4.9 to 5.9 ft.) in diameter and 0.7 to 1.2 m (2.3 to 3.9 ft.) in height. Nests sometimes increase in size over time as eagles renest and continue to add nest materials. They are built either on cliffs or near the top of a large tree where they are supported by a set of large branches and interwoven sticks. The Bald Eagle nest that we observe on the web cam appears to be on the larger side. This is an estimate because I have only viewed the nest from the ground.

Patrick Keenan,
BioDiversity Research Institute

reference: Buehler, D. A. 2000. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). In The Birds of North America, No. 506 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc, Philadelphia, PA

October begins!

2008-10-02T10:00:00.002-04:00

Well...it is nice to see that the eagles are active in the nest area. They are calling occasionally and seem to have weathered tropical depression Kyle without obvious incident. I would like to comment on Peggy's action packed video post which can be viewed under our last blog post. Although it is difficult to be certain of the identity of the second bird, after several viewings and several consults, it appears to be a young eagle based on its large size and shape (this could offer a nice discussion point if others had other perspectives). Furthermore, it is not uncommon for young eagles to "explore" nests as they disperse. If you haven't viewed Peggy's video, I recommend it!

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Eagles at the nest!

2008-09-24T16:53:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm sure that some of you have observed the recent activity at the nest. Notable early this morning. Often during this time of year there is an increased activity near raptor nests. This is thought to be triggered by the particular photo period (day length) -- similar to that in the spring -- which is known to stimulate singing in songbirds during the fall and protection of nest sites and nest activity by raptors in the fall. Hopefully this pair will keep up the good work and reinforce their nest structure to endure winter storms.

Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Stream recovered!

2008-09-22T09:57:00.002-04:00

Hi All, I have just now recovered the live stream--not sure what happened. Notably, there are (were) several crows basking in the sun on the sea-side of the nest. Thanks for keeping me posted. As you probably realized I was away from my computer this weekend. What beautiful weather we are having in Maine. This latest cold front, near to the peak of raptor migration, could push raptors toward our coastline and make for good viewing. Maybe a few will turn-up on the cam.

Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

The Eaglecam is back online!

2008-09-19T18:27:00.005-04:00

Well, after what has been a long day I am happy to say that Wing and I were able to get the cam back up... and just in time for the weekend. A big thanks for all your patience this last week.

We were on the road early for our site visit and we were able to sleuth out the cam troubles and get the cam back up and on-line. It was a fantastic day for travel in Maine. We heard eagles on several occasions throughout the day before we left the site. The cool temperature and crisp skies seemed to make the shrieks and screams of the eagles reverberate in our very bones. There is no doubt that eagle nest sites are very special places and we are very fortunate to have such a great view of this one.

Patrick Keenan

BioDiversity Research Institute

p.s.--On my return home, a bit weary and a bit hungry after a long day, I nearly veered off Interstate 95 viewing what could only be a good omen...two adult Bald Eagles soaring directly above.

So many waiting...Eaglecam still down

2008-09-17T10:25:00.005-04:00

Hi all, thanks for the enthusiastic comments posted and e-mails. I wish I was able to come through with the big positive news. Unfortunately, the cam is still down and we are pretty sure that damage is due to lightning. Regardless we are trying to figure out the how to fix the cam and what equipment we need to replace to get the system up and running. I realize that you all are waiting patiently (thanks so much) and I will definitely post when we are back on-line. This will probably not be before the weekend. In the meantime, let's keep the positive energy flowing...

All the Best,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Cam still down...update

2008-09-11T17:45:00.003-04:00

Hi all. We are still working on figuring out the problem with the cam. There were several storms in the area that coincided with the cam going down. We are hoping that it isn't to serious...these systems are costly. Wish us luck!

Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

Eagle Cam Down...

2008-09-10T15:39:00.004-04:00

We are working on it. Many thanks for the warm welcomes. I will soon have a page on the BRI website for those interested in my background. My role at BRI is that of Education and Outreach Coordinator which is fitting given my background as both a researcher and an educator. Let's get this cam up!

Patrick Keenan
Biodiversity Research Institute

Hello from Patrick! The cam is back up...

2008-09-08T16:23:00.004-04:00

Hi all. My name is Patrick Keenan and I wanted to introduce myself. I will be assisting Wing with the eaglecam and am very excited about hearing your observations and comments. As you may know the autumn can be an exciting time for eagles. Some individuals disperse from there breeding sites to winter territories while others, especially those along the coast, remain loyal to their breeding area year-round. This could mean some exciting interactions and behaviorial observations as indivuals move south and to the coast for the winter. Our cam is focused on some prime real estate (from an eagle's perspective) so let's keep watch.

Patrick Keenan
Biodiversity Research Institute

Cam Back Online!

2008-08-05T15:55:00.001-04:00

We are back up and running!

Cam offline

2008-07-28T10:20:00.001-04:00

Just a quick note to let you know the cam is offline at the moment and I am working to determine what the problems may be. We hope to be up and running shortly.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Anything is Possible

2008-05-13T09:32:00.002-04:00

Well, this behavior is interesting. If the birds were to nest this late, this would be very, very unusual, and I'm sure would break a record for late nesting--I will have to check for sure with Charlie.

A couple things to look for as far as nesting. 1) nest always occupied, 2) bird stands up looks down and rotates eggs, 3) quick nest exchanges between mates, and 4) the birds stay on the nest through the night. The IR light I think is not working anymore so we may not have the view at night that we would like, but we certainly do not want to be on site when the birds are behaving this way.

Please keep up your great comments and observations.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

House Finch Cam Live!

2008-05-11T18:07:00.002-04:00

Well in an effort to provide you with images of nesting birds, I have set-up a webcam on a nesting house finch at my house with a dedicated blog.

Please see the birds live at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/finch-cam.php

These birds are common around our houses and we can learn a lot about them and bird behavior from this camera.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Osprey Cam Now Has Blog

2008-05-08T10:17:00.006-04:00

Please visit the new osprey blog http://ospreycam1.blogspot.com/ to learn more

about the birds and comment on their activities.

I wanted to add that the birds are very active on the nest, they have been on

and off the nest for the last hour.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Osprey Cam Live

2008-05-07T19:47:00.005-04:00

Greeting all!

Just spent all afternoon setting up a second osprey cam. You can see it live at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/osprey-cam.php

Kids in the Nest just sent us a ton of new equipment and we hope to have eight camera systems running by the end of the year. A HUGE thank you to them for their incredibly generous support.

The pair of osprey at this new cam are located at the Taste of Maine Restaurant, in Woolwich Maine, and if you are ever driving past them on Route one be sure to stop in and see the birds on a 42 inch plasma TV! And they have great food too!

Last year this pair raised a chick, despite the fact that the female had an injury and was found hopping around on the ground. I will get the full story and post it soon. Both the male and female have been visiting the nest site, but like the eagles, a disruption in nesting the year before may make them take a year off.

At the moment you will see some wavy lines moving through the image. This is coming from interference and we know the problem and are working on clearing it up. This camera does not have sound, we will install it next year. I will also be setting up a dedicated blog for this web cam.

We also intend in getting the other osprey cam up and running. It was struck by lightening last year and the camera may be completely dead, but we are working on it.

Please let me know if you see any activity.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Loon Cam Live

2008-04-25T08:55:00.003-04:00

Good morning all. I wanted to report that the loon cam is now live on our site. You can see the cam at:

http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/loon-cam.php

I quick note about the sound of the eaglecam -- I have turned it off at this point.

Next week I will be receiving equipment from Kids in the Nest (www.kidsinthenest.com) and we will working getting additional cam systems up. I huge thank you to them! As you can imagine this can take time, but I will keep you posted.

I hope that by 2009 we will have eight live cams! However, we will need your help in purchasing computer systems to run the cams. If you are able please send in donations to help us buy computers.

We have two osprey systems that we hope to have in place shortly. It does appear that the osprey cam from last year maybe dead because of a lightening strike, so we will have to replace that camera--fortunantly we can use one of the new cameras from Kids in the Nest.

I will keep you updated, but we are really excited about our new equipment and the amazing possibilities. When I have specific plans about where we will deploy the equipment, I will let you know.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

No Nesting This Year

2008-04-22T13:02:00.002-04:00

Greetings dedicated bloggers. Well I think we can be certain that the eagles will not nest this year. The birds at this nest site have been the most productive in the state over the last 14 years and they are now sliding back to the state average. As we have already discussed, there are many reasons why the birds may not be nesting this year, including getting old, last years nest failure, contaminant burden, mate switch, or simply taking a year off. What we have seen over the last three years shows how hard it is for birds to successfully raise young each year. They face so many challenges, from habitat loss, to changes in food web dynamics, to contaminants. Who knows, maybe the birds will surprise us once again and break records for late nesting, but all the sign indicate they are taking the year off.

We will keep the camera up and running and we are currently working on getting our loon cam and osprey can up and running. We will be setting up the loon cam this week and hopefully will have it live for you by the beginning of next week. I am trouble shooting the osprey cam which sustained a major lightening strike last year--hopefully we can get it up soon.

Also we have a number of other cam projects up our sleeve, and there is a good possibility that we may be able to get them off the ground (literally and figuratively) this year.

Thank you for all your support and amazing observations.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

Female Spends the Night on Nest

2008-04-11T05:52:00.002-04:00

Well the birds certainly keep us guessing. According to bloggers the female spent the night on the nest, sitting mostly in the incubation position. This morning she was gone from the nest, but this could be a good sign. Although, they probably don't have an egg at this point since the birds have now left the nest.

If the birds do have an egg they will not leave the nest unattended or more than a couple of minutes and will look down towards the egg and rotate it every so often.

Thank you for al your great observations

Wing Goodale

BioDiveresity Research Institute

Possible Scenarios

2008-04-01T10:17:00.001-04:00

Good morning. I have been carefully reading your observations and have had communications with Charlie Todd at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife—Charlie has been working with eagles in Maine for decades. I would like to thank Charlie for taking the time to provide us with his extremely helpful insights. Below is a paraphrase of Charlie’s comments.

Charlie feels that a mate switch is plausible, but cannot be determined by behavioral changes because there have been instances of birds nesting successfully after mate switches and without the birds being banded there is no way for us to know for sure.

Charlie indicates that there is still a chance that they may breed, although the other pairs in the area have been on eggs since March 24th. However he notes that there is a greater percentage of birds that are inactive at this time than he would expect.

Charlie suggests that we zoom the camera out (which I will do today) to see the tree as a whole to see if we can see the birds roosting in the tree near the nest—he says it is common for non-breeding birds to can hang around the nest.

He does suggest that there is a slim chance that the birds have a new nest and that it is possible for birds to be bringing in sticks, sitting prone, and copulating at the nest site even while they are tending to another nest site. The key at this point is if we see BOTH of the birds at this nest site for longer than ten minutes. Could all of you wonderful observers please write in comments with the amount of time the birds are spending on the nest and if BOTH the birds are at the nest. When Charlie next conducts an aerial survey in the area, he will keep an eye out for a new nest.

Finally, he notes that it is comment for birds to have inactive breeding seasons, especially after a nest failure. This can be caused by old age, build up of contaminants, weather, and other factors. This pair has had the best nesting success in the state between 1995-2007, 92%. The state norm is 63%, so it is possible that these birds are sliding back to the state average.

Please keep up your excellent observations and please let me know when you see both birds on the nest and the amount of time they are at the nest.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

Mate Switch?

2008-03-27T14:59:00.004-04:00

Well I have to say that the birds are showing all the signs of laying very soon. As I have read your observations and viewed the birds’ behavior, I believe that there is a possibility that there has been a mate switch. I would be interested to see any analysis you might able to do comparing images from the female this year compared to last year. In loons where we have banded most of the birds in a population, we have found much to our surprise that the birds switch mates much more often than we had suspected.

A couple of behaviors indicate that there may be a change. They are now three weeks later than the previously two years, and the birds’ pattern of nest attendance is different. The birds appear to be "figuring" out their way through the nesting process, whereas in the prior two years they were extremely efficient. Finally, after a nest failure (last year), nest switches are common.

I will be interested if you are able to do a comparison.

Keep up your amazing observations. What a great group of biologist you all are.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Probably No Eggs Yet

2008-03-23T08:42:00.002-04:00

The bird's behavior suggests that they have not laid an egg yet and are still "practicing." However, the amount of time they have been spending on the nest is a very good sign that they may lay very soon. Since the temperature is generally below freezing this time of year, an egg would not survive long without being incubated. We have observed that loons will leave the first laid egg unattended or the first 24 hours, but that is in May when the temperature is above freezing.

Once there is an egg, the birds will be on the nest at all times and you should see them stand up and rotate the egg every hour or so.

Please keep up your excellent observations.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Possible Egg Laying

2008-03-22T20:37:00.003-04:00

Greetings all!

Just got back from dinner and was pleased to see all your comments. If the female stays on the nest through the night and there are quick nest exchanges in the morning, then this would be a good sign that they have laid an egg.

We may also be seeing the birds still "practicing," but I believe this is the first time that we have seen the bird on the nest at night this season.

If any of you are in other time zones and can check in through the night, please post comments if the bird is still on the nest.

From what we learned last year, egg laying should be expressed in the female rocking back and forth in the nest.

We will know for sure that they have laid an egg when the nest is occupied 24/7.

I look forward to reading your comments.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Quick Update

2008-03-16T18:47:00.002-04:00

Thank you for all of your observations. There is still a very good signs that the birds will nest and there is still plenty of time for the birds to nest.

The time lapse shot seems to be down, I am away from work but I will try to work remotely with our internet service provider to see if they can fix the problem.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Unprecedented Study Finds Over 100 Contaminants in Maine Birds

2008-03-11T06:49:00.000-04:00

GORHAM, Maine, March 11, 2007—BioDiversity Research Institute today released a new report documenting that over 100 harmful contaminants were found in Maine bird eggs. Wing Goodale will present the report to the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Natural Resources today at 1 p.m.

Flame retardants (PBDEs), industrial stain and water repellants (PFCs), transformer coolants (PCBs), pesticides (OCs), and mercury were found in all 23 species of birds tested. The bird species studied live in a variety of habitats: on Maine’s ocean, salt marshes, rivers, lakes and uplands.

“This is the most extensive study of its kind to date and the first time industrial stain and water repellants were discovered in Maine birds,” says report author senior research biologist Wing Goodale.

Common loon, Atlantic puffin, piping plover, belted kingfisher, great black-backed gull, peregrine falcon and bald eagle had the highest contaminant levels. The flame retardant deca-BDE, banned last year in Maine, was found in eight species. Overall, eagles carried the greatest contaminant load, and for many contaminants had levels multiple times higher than other species. Many of the contaminants levels recorded were above those documented to have adverse effects.

“These results are significant because many of these contaminants can interact to create effects more harmful than one toxic pollutant alone,” said Goodale, “and the pervasiveness of the pollutants strongly suggests that birds and wildlife in other states are also accumulating these contaminants.”

“Since we found that birds with high levels of one contaminant tended to have high levels of other contaminants, these compounds may cause top predators, such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons, to have greater difficulty hunting and caring for young,” Goodale added.

The report also shows the contaminants are coming from both global and local sources. All the types of contaminants were found in all species—including birds that feed hundreds of miles offshore. This indicates that the pollutants are most likely in rain and snow. Birds in mid-coast and southern Maine tended to have higher levels, suggesting the compounds may also come from local sources such as incinerators and water treatment facilities.

“There is good news,” Goodale said. “We found that banned chemicals like PCBs and DDT were significantly lower in Maine today than in the past, showing that by banning chemicals we can decrease levels of harmful contaminants in the environment.”

Samples were collected from the following towns: Biddeford, Boothbay, Bridgton, Bucksport, Chester, Criehaven TWP, Dead River TWP, Deer Isle, Eastport, Falmouth, Gorham, Islesboro, Kennebunk, Kittery, Lincoln TWP, Lincolnville, Milbridge, Mount Desert Island, North Haven, Old Orchard Beach, Phippsburg, Portland, Saco, Scarborough, Searsmont, South Portland, Spalding TWR, T3 Indian Purchase, Wells, and Westbrook.

BioDiversity Research Institute is a nonprofit ecological research group dedicated to progressive environmental study and education that furthers global sustainability and conservation policies. The organization believes that wildlife serve as important indicators of ecological integrity.

Look for "practice incubation"

2008-03-04T17:29:00.002-05:00

Greetings all!

Thank you for your fantastic observations. As the birds move towards egg laying they will spend more and more time sitting in the nest getting ready for egg laying. The tell tale sign that an egg has been laid is when one of the birds spends the entire night on the nest.

Although they have nested consistently during the first week of March the last two years, they could be a number of weeks later this year. Birds are fairly consistent in there nesting timing, but many factors such as weather will influence their timing.

Keep up all your great comments.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

More Good Signs

2008-02-22T16:38:00.002-05:00

I just reviewed your comments and was excited to see the amount of activity on the nest. Please look for the birds bringing in sticks and preparing the nest bowl. A very good sign is how defensive the pair is of the nest.

Just a note with the snow is that the lens can become clogged up with snow, making the image white/grey. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about this until it melts. This storm is only going to drop a couple of inches so it should be alright.

Thank you for all your excellent observation.

Wing Goodale

BioDiversity Research Institute

Back online

2008-02-20T14:25:00.001-05:00

There was a power outage at the site.

We are all set now.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

Live Stream Down

2008-02-20T11:34:00.002-05:00

Well, the internet is down or the computer is frozen.

We are working on it and I hope to have it running again shortly.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

Good Signs

2008-02-17T09:08:00.000-05:00

This morning I was reviewing a number of the videos that you have all posted and I was very pleased to see some pre-nesting behavior. Specifically, the way one of the birds sat briefly in the nest bowls and pushed back with their eggs. Another good sign is the way that the bird is looking down into the nest bowl.

As the birds progress towards nesting we should see sticks being brought in, possibly copulations, and the female “practicing” sitting.

Please keep up all the great observations and I will have the infrared turned on this week.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

Winter Update

2008-01-30T09:16:00.001-05:00

I have been reading your observations carefully over the last couple of weeks and have been pleased to see that both the adults have been visiting the nest. This is a good sign that they may attempt to nest again this year. Over the last two years the birds have laid their first egg on March 5th and 6th . In 2006 they spent a great deal of time bringing in sticks and working on the nest months before laying, but last year they focused on nest building only a couple of weeks before laying. Soon I will have the infrared light turned back on so that we have night vision.

Please keep posting your extremely helpful observations.

Wing Goodale
BioDiversity Research Institute

Fall Update

2007-11-27T14:40:00.001-05:00

Greetings all. Sorry to be out of touch for a while, but I have been swamped with data analysis, manuscript preparation, and report writing.

I have corresponded with both Charlie Todd (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife) and Mark McCollough (US Fish and Wildlife Service) about the eagle activity that you have observed. Their consensus is that what you have been observing is fairly normal for this time of year. Generally, the adult are less protective of their nest site and juveniles are disbursing throughout the region. We have a satellite transmitter on a juvenile from last year that has traveled from Maine to Pennsylvania to Virginia to Maine to south again.

Charlie notes that young of the year are bumbling around this time of year trying to make a living independently and generally trying to avoid conflicts with adults. The younger birds rarely have any urge to settle down until they are four, and successful breeding doesn’t usually occur until five to seven years.

The chatter of the birds that you are hearing off camera indicates that an eagle is communicating with another bird.

Over the last two years the adult have not started working on the nest seriously until the end of February, so there is still quite a bit of time before activity picks up.
There have been some questions regarding the infrared light. Since the birds are not present regularly at the site we have turned the light off to conserve the bulb. The bulb is only good for so many hours and we want ensure that it will be fully functioning during the breeding season.

I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Wing GoodaleBioDiversity Research Institute

Cam Update 9-10-07

2007-09-10T11:26:00.000-04:00

Good morning all. Cam is back up again. It would appear that the site lost power over the weekend and I had to restart the computer and camera this morning to get up and running again. I hope there isn't any hidden problems from the lightening strike.

A couple notes regarding sound and night vision. The sound is off to protect the privacy of the people that live in the area and the infrared light is unplugged to prolong the life of the light. Both of these will be turned on before nesting in the winter.

Thank you all for your continued support and patience.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Back online

2007-09-06T18:31:00.000-04:00

With the help of collaborators on site we were able to get the cam back up and running. Good news, the equipment survived yet another lightening strike.

Let's hope the camera will hold on for another year.

Thank for your continued support.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Camera Update

2007-09-05T09:04:00.000-04:00

We switched out the surge protector and the camera is still down. Not a good sign. The computer is running but the camera is still down which means that we may have some more serious problems. Lightening can cause all sorts of problems.

We are working on it.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Webcam Offline

2007-08-31T10:19:00.000-04:00

Well, we have replaced the surge protector, and the computer is up and running. However, the camera will not come back on line, which means that there are more problems with the system. After a lightening strike just about anything could be damaged. I am not sure when we will be able to get to the site to look into what the problems are, but rest assured we will get the camera back up and running.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Update 8-28-07

2007-08-28T14:48:00.000-04:00

I wanted to give you a quick update on the cam. I have been working with collaborators to get the camera back on line after it was hit by lightening a second time. The good news is that it looks like it was the surge protector again did its job, but it died in the process. We have ordered a new one that we hope to install shortly.

On another note, I have been working on sending 60 egg samples to our lab from 23 species, including eagles. These samples will be run for 192 contaminants and I should have the results back in December.

You may want to also look at our new results on mercury in saltmarsh sparrows http://www.briloon.org/Embargoed_Final_SSTS_Report.pdf

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Eagle Cam Back Running

2007-07-30T11:34:00.000-04:00

I am writing from the eaglecam site and I am very happy to report that the surge protector did its job and protected the equipment from the lightening strike. We are now back online!

Thank you all for your continued interest in this project. I will continue to be mostly in the field until August, but come September I will be back in the office and as always I depend upon your observations to help be understand the behavior of the eagles.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Webcam Updates

2007-07-23T12:27:00.001-04:00

I am just back for a day and am heading back to the field in ten minutes. I have been working with my co-workers and volunteers to determine what is happening. I have discovered that the eaglecam was hit by lightening and is going to be offline for a while. I am going to make a trip to the site as soon as I can to see what can be done. If we are lucky it is as simple as the surge protector being shot, but there may be a lot of other problems as well. I will keep you up to date. I have been working on the ospreycam and it is back up and running and as I write this a bird is sitting near the nest.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to these projects.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

OspreyCam Back Online

2007-06-29T11:36:00.000-04:00

I am finally back to civilization after ten days in the field and I have good news. I am happy to report that I was finally able to get to the OspreyCam site and was able to fix the problem. The good news is that the problem was minor and resulted from a likely lightening strike on site. I have also changed some settings so I now have remote control of the camera

The not so good news, is that it appears that the birds nesting attempt has failed. Because the camera was offline, it’s hard to say what happened. The eggs may not have hatched, or a gull may have predated the chicks. The adults are still spending a great deal of time around the nest and there is a good chance that they may try to renest. They are working on a nest site at a new location. If the choose to move to this new site, we can easily turn the camera to the new nest. I have pulled the camera back a bit so that we can see the birds on the left side of the platform.

We will see what happens. Watch the nest here http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/osprey-cam.php.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Back from the field

2007-06-16T11:45:00.000-04:00

Greetings all! Home after long week in the field—up at 3:30 each morning, mapping the location of every singing male bird on remote islands. Quite a week actually, battling strong northeast winds that were so cold that I had on all of my winter outdoor gear.

I got word via cell phone that the osprey and eagle cams were down. We were able to resolve the problems on both cams, momentarily. Unfortunately, the osprey cam is down again and I am locked out of the computer. We have restarted the computer a couple of times, but it keeps shutting down. My fear is that the computer has been compromised from the earlier attack from the hacker or virus and may be down for the season.

I am heading back out into the field tomorrow and will be away from computers for another week. I am afraid that I will need to erase the hard drive of computer, reload all the software and start over—something that takes about a day or two. My challenge at this point is finding that day.

June is the month around which the rest of our year revolves because most of the birds in the northeast are nesting and raising young. At this moment I am overseeing six projects, four of which need to be completed in the next two weeks.

Come July, I will have a spare couple of days that, hopefully, I can put towards fixing this computer.

I hope you are all having a great summer and I will keep you updated on how all is progressing.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

No limit to Osprey Cam Live Stream

2007-06-10T20:31:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note as I am heading out to the field again. I am happy report that Kids in the Nest (www.kidsinthenest.com) are now streaming the cam and with their generous support we are able to take off the two minute cut-off.

There have been some questions about when the birds will hatch out the chicks. Since we were not monitoring this nest from the beginning, I am not sure when they first laid the eggs and therefore when they will hatch.

Let’s keep watching and we will find out.

I will be on a remote islands and away from my computer until next weekend.

Have a great week.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

OspreyCam up and Running

2007-06-04T12:50:00.000-04:00

I am happy to report that the OspreyCam is up and running again. It appeared to me that someone hacked into the computer and caused all sorts of problems. I have the camera up and running, but my access to the computer is limited because it has been compromised by the attack. Hopefully, it will stay running on its own without maintenance.

As far as the moving around, we are working on stabilizing the camera, but in high wind it will be a bit bumpy because of the amount we are zoomed in. Next year, we are hoping to move the camera closer to the nest to fix this problem.

I will be out in the field again tomorrow and away from a computer, but let’s hope that that the camera keeps running.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

OspreyCam Update

2007-06-04T08:48:00.000-04:00

Good morning. I just got back from the field—dodging thunderstorms, counting birds, cooking over a camp stove. We had quite a successful trip, starting up two studies, and survey two islands.

As with all the cameras they take tweaking to get running correctly. As I can see from your comments, the camera didn’t stay live for too long after we launched it. I have logged into the computer and it appears to be locked up. I am working with the fantastic folks at FPL Energy Maine Hydro to get the problem ironed out.

If all goes as planned I should have it up and running later today. My only fear is that the computer has been hacked by some body—let’s hope that hasn’t happened.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Osprey Cam Live!

2007-05-31T12:26:00.000-04:00

I am writing a quick update from the road. I have just gotten off an island and am heading out to another in 10 minutes.

I wanted to give you the exciting news that with the help of FPL Energy Maine Hydro and Kids in the Nest we have just launched a live osprey cam. You can watch the birds at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/osprey-cam.php.

On this camera, BRI is providing the live stream and we would greatly appreciate it if you would mind respecting the 2 minutes of live video, and like our other camera, your donations are vital to keep the system up and running free of charge. To donate, please follow this link http://www.briloon.org/support/.

Unlike our other cameras we are a little further from the birds, so we won’t be able to zoom in as far and we are still working on the audio.

I will be away from my computer for the next eight days. I hope that you enjoy the new camera. Below is the press release that I sent out today.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

New Maine Osprey Webcam Launched

GORHAM, Maine, May30, 2007—BioDiversity Research Institute launches new live osprey Internet camera in Casco Bay, Maine to build upon their successful eagle and loon webcams.

The osprey cam, which can been seen at www.briloon.org, is provided free of charge by Gorham, Maine-based BioDiversity Research Institute with collaboration and support from FPL Energy Maine Hydro and Kids in the Nest.

“We are very excited,” says osprey cam project director Wing Goodale. “Since we started the eaglecam, we have been looking for a suitable osprey nest to focus a new camera system.”

The camera is mounted 200 feet away from a historical osprey nest, has night vision, a windshield wiper, and can be move 360 degrees. The osprey pair began building their nest two weeks ago and we believe are now tending to a least two eggs. Biologists at BioDiversity Research Institute are now eagerly waiting along with the public for the chicks to hatch, which may be as soon as the last week in June.

“This osprey pair has successfully raised young for the last couple of years,” Goodale says. “With this new camera, we will all be able to watch the chicks hatch, and be raised by the adults.”

Students and people around the world followed the trials of an eagle pair on BioDiversity’s eagle cam intently and provided valuable observations for scientists at BioDiversity on the Web cam’s accompanying blog. At its height, the Web cam had over 8.5 million hits a day. BioDiversity Research Institute hopes the osprey cam will draw in even more viewers.
BioDiversity Research Institute is a nonprofit ecological research group dedicated to progressive environmental study and education that furthers global sustainability and conservation policies. The organization believes that wildlife serve as important indicators of ecological integrity.

Update

2007-05-20T11:15:00.000-04:00

I wanted to give you a quick update. We are still working hard on the new camera system that I hope will be up and running by the end of the next week—of course I have been saying this for the last couple of weeks. These systems always take longer to get going than one thinks. The good news is that the birds that I hope we will be watching are building their nest and look like they will be putting down eggs soon.

Charlie Todd told Bangor Daily News that 12 nests were destroyed between Harpswell and Eastport during the storm. Here is a link to the story http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=150037&zoneid=500.

We are fortunate that the nest that we are viewing through the webcam didn’t come down, and the birds continued defense of the nest site against intruders as well as the amount of time they have been spending on the nest, strongly indicates that the birds will nest again at this site.

Next week will be my last week in the office for a while. I will be out on remote islands from southern Maine to Downeast Maine. This summer I will be working along side my colleagues at BRI, collecting samples to be analyzed for mercury and contaminants from Maine to Virginia to New York to Alaska. We are working with everything from bats to sharks to birds of all sorts.

I hope to be able to give you updates throughout the summer on how our research is progressing, and hopefully I will be able to be providing comments on our new camera!

I know that there have been questions about how long the eaglecam will be running and I wanted to assure you that we plan on having it up year round, because we are learning along with you how eagles use a nest site when they are not tending to young.

Please be sure to check out the looncam at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/loon-cam.php. Lee Attix will have the live streaming up I believe nest week. You can now watch however the refreshing still image.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

The coming field season

2007-05-12T07:51:00.000-04:00

Good morning. I wanted to let you know that I won’t be able to update the blog until Monday night because I will be in the field.

I have been carefully reading your observations and for a while I was sanguine that the birds would renest—copulating on the nest site, working on the nest. However, we are now well past the May 6th date of the latest recorded nesting of eagles in Maine and the amount of time that the birds are spending at the nest is decreasing. If there was a 1 in a 100 chance of them renesting three weeks ago, we are now in the 1 in 10,000. Nature is hard to predict.

I am still working on our next camera installation and I very much hope that we will get it up and running shortly. Putting together these cameras is a lot like piecing together links in a chain—if just one link is broken then you have no image. The good news is that the looncam is up and running and we will have the live video up shortly. And this year we have two cameras.

I also wanted to report that BRI received funding to initiate a broad based contaminant study on birds in Maine. We will be looking at 102 contaminants (flame retardants (PBDEs), industrial chemicals (PFCs), organic pesticides (OCs), PCBs, and mercury) in 18 species of birds in six locations. This study will help us track how these contaminants are moving through different habitats, locations, and trophic levels (the position an organism hold in the food chain). As far as I am aware this is a first of its type study. Among the species that we will be studying are eagles, peregrine falcon, sharp-shinned hawk, great-horned owl, common loon, and belted kingfisher. I will not have results until the fall, but as soon as I do I will let you know.

I am also gearing up for a number of studies that will take me out to remote Maine islands for a week at a time. I will do my best to update the blog when I come out of the field and will work with my colleagues to update the blog when I am away from a computer.

Have a great weekend.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Loon cam live

2007-05-04T08:25:00.001-04:00

Good morning. Lee Attix and I set up the loon cam yesterday. You can see the refreshing still image at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/loon-cam.php. We are currently working on the live video which we hope to have running shortly. Lee is writing on a blog dedicated to the looncam at http://looncam.blogspot.com/. We now have a second camera set up that points out towards the water in order to get a view of what is happening on the water in front of the nest. Our current system only allows one camera to be on at a time. We will switch back and forth depending on where the birds are.

We have confirmed that both the male and female loons from last year have returned, which is a very good sign for successful nesting. Over the last four years the birds have initiated nesting around the third week in May. Generally a week prior to the birds nesting they will start working on the nest site and may copulate on the nest site.

Like the eaglecam, we will depend upon your observations to let us know what is happening with the loons. Please post your comments on the looncam blog.

I am also working on the other cam—I just received another important component which I will deliver to the site today! I will keep you updated on how it all is progressing.

Fundraising update. We are now at $14, 200! Thank you!

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Nesting behavior and two new webcams

2007-05-02T12:52:00.000-04:00

I was interested to see your observation yesterday about the female sitting down. That is the type of pre-nesting behavior that we want to look for. If they do renest, then the female will start increasing the amount of time on the nest and we would know for certain that an egg had been laid if the bird spends the night on the nest.

As one commenter speculated, it is possible that other birds are moving around and looking for new sites because they lost their nest in the storm. Charlie Todd of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife was telling me that he saw many nests that had been blow out of trees and it looked like many pairs of eagles around the state were affected by the storm.

I wanted to let you know that I am working on another webcam system on a new species! We have the equipment, and the location. Now we have to work on the Internet connection, installation, and equipment. If we don’t run into a problem of some sort, which is entirely possible, we should have a very exciting and dynamic pair of birds for you to watch within a couple of weeks, perhaps sooner.

Tomorrow, we will be installing the looncam, now with not one by two cameras. If all goes without a hitch we will have the camera online by the beginning on next week.

I should have an update on the fundraising campaign, latter today.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Nest Intruder

2007-04-27T09:40:00.001-04:00

After being in the field until late last night and early this morning, getting a broad contaminant study off the ground I was excited to see 216 comments! What had happened?

I have reviewed your comments and have been very interested in watching your videos of the intruder eagle.

Territorial battles are quite common amongst eagle, loons, and most birds that are not colonial nesters. I have seen knock down drag out fights between all sorts of birds. And I have been surprised that we have not seem more behavior of this sort at this nest site, since it is in a prime location—relatively protected from weather and close to foraging areas. They are also common after a nesting failure.

There are a number of eagle nests in the area, and there are young adult eagles that are attempting to establish territories. This territorial battle is a good sign for a number of reasons.

First it demonstrates clearly that the pair are quite attached to the nest site and are defending it again intruders. This indicates clearly that the pair has not abandoned the nest site after the failure.

As many of you noted that the confrontation was between two males. In reviewing the videos it’s not clear to me which is the territorial male and which is the intruder. It is possible that we could be witnessing a mate switch. It is often the case with birds that they are more attached to the nest site and territory rather than each other.

If you can, please review the video from the beginning and see if you can see a difference between the males, and see as they change back and forth on the nest if you can tell if it is the same male at the beginning of the confrontation as at the end. It appears to me that one of the birds had more white feathers showing on the body.

Another reason this is positive sign, is that it shows that the eagle population as a whole in increasing and that young strong birds are trying to establish their own territories—often they will try and take over another rather than establishing their own. This younger cohort of eagles, are extremely important to the population as a whole. Since eagles live so long and reproduce relatively slowly, it is vital for a stable or growing population to have a large group of younger birds available to fill if a breeding adult leaves.

Finally, even though this battle looked intense to our eyes, birds, like dog, people, and most animals do every thing they can to avoid physical danger. In watching one of the videos a saw a lot of calling, dive bombing, and little if any physical contact. If you think about people, generally people yell at each a great deal before getting into a physical alteration—same with birds.

Keep up the great observations.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Eagles bring in nesting material and copulate

2007-04-26T08:21:00.000-04:00

As I write this there is a bird perched above the nest site and from the comments we have received the birds have been on the nest for the last three hours. They have brought in nesting material and have copulated on the nesting site. This suggests that the birds may be attempting to renest. Generally the rule of thumb is that birds will lay eggs 3-5 days after copulating. They may have been copulating out of the camera view as well.

Here is a video posted by Judy of the activity this morning http://judykb.org/meapr26all.asf

Please keep up your helpful observations. Watch for the female sitting in an incubation position, which is pre-laying behavior.

Perhaps these birds will continue to defy the odd and make another attempt.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Latest Eagle Nesting in Maine

2007-04-25T08:38:00.000-04:00

I have had an email correspondence with Charlie Todd of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. He told me that the latest date of eagle nesting in Maine was May 6th. This indicates, that although it is unlikely the birds will renest, that there is still an outside possibility. Please keep up all your great observations to let us know if the birds are visiting the nest site.

As far as the sound, what you are hearing is Internet noise. I have turned down the gain a bit, and perhaps it will be a little better.

Another update on our fundraising. When I made my earlier post, I was looking at the wrong numbers. Our actual donations are $12,500. This is a great start on our $50,000 campaign. Thank you for all your support!

I also wanted to let you know that we are exploring another project, which if the logistics come together, may be up and running next week. I will keep you posted!

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Spring is here and amazing donations!

2007-04-23T10:01:00.001-04:00

What a weekend. The migratory birds are streaming into Maine by the thousands. Practically by the hour I was hearing or seeing a new species. On Saturday morning I went to my favorite birding spot and saw a couple palm warblers and a ruby crowned kinglet—other than that not too much going. This morning, however, was amazing. There were literally thousands of birds, palm warblers feeding on insects over the water, white-throated sparrows flipping over leaves, winter wrens foraging along streams, and yellow-rumped warblers thick in the trees. These birds have been all waiting for the weather to break, and now that we have a southern breeze they are on the move.

I wanted to give you an update on our fundraising campaign. We are bowled over here at BRI; since we started the $50,000 campaign we have received $25,000 in donations! Absolutely amazing—we are half way there. Thank you all for your extremely generous support. And now it is looncam season.

I just received word, ten minutes ago that a pair of loons has returned to the lakes where we set up the camera. There is still skim ice in places, but it should be gone by the end of today. I was working last week to get the loon cam computers up and running and this week Lee Attix and I will complete our preparations for out installation next week. If all goes as planned we should have the camera live by the end of next week or the beginning of the following.

Lee Attix has a blog for the loon cam which is http://looncam.blogspot.com/ and the loon cam can be viewed at http://www.briloon.org/watching-wildlife/loon-cam.php.

Over the weekend there were some great question about mercury and why it may be higher inland than on the lakes. The short answer is that the mercury is less diluted in fresh water systems than the ocean. I wanted to provide you with two links to two of our recent reports which outline how and where mercury is concentrating. This first report explains what is currently known about mercury levels in the environment http://www.briloon.org/mercury/mercon_contents.htm. This second report explains the mercury hotspots in the northeast that we have documented http://www.briloon.org/mercury/hot_spot_bio.htm.

As far as the florescent lights that contain mercury. They are excellent lights that use significant less electricity, much of which comes from coal-fired plants. Since coal power plants can contribute significantly to mercury deposition and global warming these light reduce green house gas emissions as well as mercury pollution. They do contain mercury, and need to be recycled once they have died—usually after many years. Here in Maine, the state is working on expanding our mercury recycling stations.

I note about the eagle. I would expect them to generally stay around the nest site, and I would expect that you should continue to hear them and perhaps see them dropping by the nest to feed on a recent catch.

Here is a link to a great story written about the birds in this weekend's Bangor Daily News.
http://www.bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=148959&zoneid=500

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

A Sunny Day

2007-04-20T08:47:00.001-04:00

Finally the clouds have parted and we have sun, warmth, and no wind. This morning the migrants that are flooding into Maine are calling loudly, setting up territories, pairing up, and carrying nesting material. Eagles across the state are hunkered down incubating their eggs.

This camera gives us an insight into one pair of birds, their ups and downs, and while they are facing their challenges of predators, weather, and contaminant loads, so are other birds across Maine and the country.

Here are BRI we have focused our research on mercury levels and other contaminants in birds and mammals. We have document that mercury, likely paired with other contaminants, causes a decrease in reproductive success essentially because it makes birds less vigorous, physically and mentally.

What I have thought about as this eagle pair weathered extreme cold and harsh weather on the nest, was how other pairs of eagles might be holding up that have high mercury levels. This pair is on the coast of Maine, where eagle mercury levels tend to be lower than birds that nest near interior lakes. The results from Chris DeSorbo’s work here at BRI, demonstrates that the average mercury levels of adult eagles in Maine is the same as those found in birds living near a mercury mine. Consequently, this tough weather may have affected the interior eagle even more than those on the coast.

Many of you have asked about the looncam. We plan on setting it up in the first week of May. The lake were the camera will be set up still has ice. As soon as the ice is out the loons return and we will set up the camera. In the past the loons have nested in the last two weeks of May.

As far as the eaglecam, we plan on leaving it up and running so that we can continue our research—today I am meeting with a senior college student to start working on a scientific paper on what we have learned from this eagle pair. Will the birds renest; will they return to the nest site through the summer? We will be learning along with you. In the last 30 years only four pairs of eagles have been documented to renest by the Maine Department of Inlands Fisheries in Wildlife. Now it is getting pretty late for the birds, and it is unlikely that they would renest, but as I have said before this pair continues to surprise us. I would expect them to maintain their territory and visit the nest periodically through the year.

Many of you have asked about the adults. From what I have read in your comments and what I have watched myself, I can confidently say that both the adults are alive and well. This pair is extremely lucky that their nest survived the storm. It is well located close to prime feeding grounds and hopefully will prove to be a good nesting site in the future.

There was a question about how long the birds will breed for. I am not sure. Eagles tend to mate for life, providing they successfully produce young, and in captivity have lived up to 30 years. Assuming that these birds have been the same pair for 13 years, and that they first nested when they were five years old, they are probably around 18 years old—middle aged by eagle standards. We will have to watch and see how many years they have I them, but I am sanguine they have many more.

Looking forward to next year, we are already looking to install two more cameras. One I hope will provide a look into the nest bowl, so that we can see how many eggs the birds have laid, the hatching process, and prey that the adults are feeding to the chicks. We are also looking into installing a high definition camera that would provide daily clips in HD from the nest. Currently, HD cannot be streamed live, but we would be able to provide two minutes clips. Also I am looking seriously into setting up a camera on a peregrine falcon nest and an osprey nest.

I intend to keep this blog running through the year. As I am able, hopefully once a week or more often, I will write in about the research here at BRI, about my field experiences coming up—I am slated to spend most of the summer on remote islands in Maine—and about bird natural history.

Later today I hope to give you an update on our fundraising campaign

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and your caring.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Storm Damage and the Future

2007-04-19T07:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was on site at the nest; the landscape looked as though a tornado had torn through. There were trees uprooted, massive limbs from the nest tree snapped off, and splintered trees everywhere. It is fortunate that this important nesting site survived the storm.

While on the site, I checked in periodically and did not see any chicks or feedings, and the nest was empty for most of the day. Last night and this morning I reviewed your observations and they confirmed that the birds had been absent from the nest both during the day and the night. This evidence indicates that the eaglets likely didn’t survive the storm.

This storm came at the most vulnerable time for the chick(s), during there first week of life. At this age they are very susceptible to exposure and need to be constantly fed small meals. The adults protected the chicks as well as they could in the hurricane force winds and driving rain, but the weather likely made if difficult for them to hunt, and the wind and rain worked its way under the adults sitting on the nest.

What is next? We will have to wait and see, and I will depend upon your observations. I would not expect the birds to renest, but these bird have certainly surprised us in the past.

I am off to a meeting for most of the day, but will write more later.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Morning Update

2007-04-18T05:53:00.000-04:00

I am about to drive up to the site and work on the Internet connection. If the feed goes off during the day, it is because I am reworking the computers. As far as watching. With our partnership with National Geo, we hope that you all can watch without having to stop after 2 minutes. However, if the servers become over loaded we may have to some limits.

I don't believe that any donations were lost.

We do hope to have a DVD made at some point.

Wing, BRI

Secure Server Down

2007-04-17T14:11:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note that because of the storm our secure server is down for making donations. We are working with our web hosting company to fix the problem.

However, if you are interested in making a donation, you can call 1-888-749-5666.

or send a donation to

BioDiversity Research Institute
19 Flaggy Meadow Rd.
Gorham, ME 04038

Thank you all for your wonderful gifts. They are vital to keep the camera running and most importantly help us with our research which is currently being used for national legislation.

Wing Goodale, BRI

White Pines and Strong Nests

2007-04-17T08:48:00.001-04:00

Good morning. There are still 125,000 Maine homes without power this morning, including mine. Fortunately, we are back up and work and miraculously the camera is still on line. There was hurricane force wind here yesterday.

The birds have weathered the worst of the storm, but have a tough couple of days ahead. The wind will quiet to 25-35 mph with gusts to 40 today with rain. Over the next couple of days the chance of rain will decrease from 90% to 60%.

One of the reasons that these birds were able to weather the storm is that their nest is in a large, healthy, white pine. These large trees are extremely import as eagle nesting sites. Last summer, when I was working with Chris DeSorbo banding and taking blood samples from eaglets, we both noted, that almost without exception, that the eagle nests were in the largest trees in the area. This storm shows just how important these trees are.

We have also seen the importance of have a strong nest that has been reinforced over the years. If I zoom the camera out, you would be able to see that this nest is around 15 feet deep. The adults work on the nest the entire year, adding sticks. This storm has demonstrated how important this maintenance is, and why protecting existing nest site is so vital. If the birds were forced to start over because of disturbance, their nest wouldn’t be nearly as strong and would be susceptible to being destroyed by the storm we have had.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Storm Notes

2007-04-16T11:35:00.000-04:00

Good morning all. Power out all across Maine, including my house and work. Writing from a coffee shop with the wind howling outside. For the moment there is still power at the eaglecam site, although I would expect it to go out at some point today.

Despite the challenging weather, this pair and I believe two chicks, are going to face in the next couple of days, they are in a very sturdy white pine with a well built nest. Last year the birds weathered some very strong storms and protected their chicks through it—if any pair of eagles can handle this storm these are the ones.

The worst of the wind is supposed to taper off by eight tonight, but it will still rain and be windy for a couple of days. This nest and the tree that the camera are in, I know have at least weathered 70 mph winds and fortunately the worst that is expected is 60 mph gust today.

Keep in mind as your watch these birds, that there are 400 other pairs of eagle across Maine that are hunkered down as well. The birds along the coast will face wind and rain, while those up north are also facing driving heavy snow.

In reviewing the videos it certainly does appear that the adult is feeding one chick while you can see another. Please keep observing and posting videos—it will be very telling when we see two heads.

I was quite interested to read your comments and watch the video of an owl, most likely a great horned, fly by the nest. I will need to research if great-horned owls have been identified as nest predators of eagles. I was also fascinated to read your comments about both of the adults sitting on the nest over that night. Again, a phenomenon I have not heard of before.

We may loose power where I am and I may not be able to update the blog until tomorrow.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Fundraising Campaign Update

2007-04-14T07:28:00.000-04:00

Good morning all. Just a quick note that I will not be able to update the blog until Sunday night.

Yesterday we were working on installing a T-1 internet connection on site and I will be visiting the site on Tuesday to set-up some additional equipment which I expect will increase the image quality. I will keep you posted on our progress. This new installation should also allow users of Real Player to watch the birds and should increase the frames per second from 15 to 30.

A huge thank you to all your donations this past week. We are making real strides towards our $50,000 goal. Since we started the campaign we have received $7,700. You support is absolutely wonderful and not only is going towards the camera, but it also going directly towards our contaminant and eagle research. The staff at BRI are gearing up for an exciting field season where we will be catching everything from bats to thrushes to seabirds to osprey to look at mercury levels. We will also be initiating a first of its kind contaminant study where we will be measuring the levels of 102 different compounds in birds from multiple habitat types across Maine.

To donate please follow this link: http://www.briloon.org/support/ .

Thank you again!

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

Notes on the chick(s)

2007-04-13T11:16:00.000-04:00

I was just reviewing our notes from last year and noticed that the first chick was spotted on April 12, 2006. Yesterday, April 12, 2007, we spotted the first chick. This consistency is quite remarkable. Last year the birds laid their first egg on March 6th, this year it was the 5th.

For most of the next couple of weeks this chick(s) will be out of view in the nest bowl and covered almost constantly by the adults because the chicks cannot maintain their body temperature. However, with enough food the chicks will be gaining about 100 grams per day. The female will be on the nest site around 90% of the time and the male 50%. After about two weeks the downy chicks will start to develop black pin feathers.

This next two weeks is a critical time for the chick(s). If the adults are disturbed from the nest site, the chicks could be prayed upon by crows or ravens and the chicks could be exposed to cold wet weather. It looks like the birds will face challenging weather over the next five days: rain/snow/wind and temperatures in the high 30s are predicted.

The eggs are generally laid 48 hours apart and the chicks will hatch at about the same interval. We know that there are at least two eggs, and there certainly is a chance for a third. Since the chicks are so small and below the nest bowl, we may not be able to see them for several days after they hatch. The best indicator we will have of a second or third chick is the adult feeding in two locations on the nest. Please post a comment if you see this behavior.

A realistic scenario is that the chick we have seen is actually from the second egg laid and that the first one failed because it was laid in extremely cold weather (-17). However this pair has been full of surprises and we very well might see another eaglet.

On another note, BioDiversity Research Institute is extremely pleased to announce a brand new venture with National Geographic and the eagle cam. This collaboration will improve the project in all ways. With joint promotion, we'll be able to bring the live video to more computer screens, we can offer all viewers unlimited viewing time, and plans are well underway to use new technology to make the image quality even better. We'll let everyone know when the new technology is operational. This is really exciting. Stay tuned for more information.

Thank you all for all of your wonderful comments.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

A note about the storm

2007-04-12T20:35:00.000-04:00

As many of you have posted we are in the middle of a strong spring storm with wet snow. If you see the image all white tomorrow that means the lens is covered in snow. The camera is also is a rural area that frequently looses power. If power is lost on site then the camera will be off line until it comes back on.

If the camera is off line I will work to get it back and running ASAP, but I we may all have to wait until power is restored.

Lets hope none of this happens!

Wing, BRI