May 31, 2005
Fledging in Vermont
Just a reminder that we've been told that on the night of June 1, the Vermont Bald Eagle Restoration Initiative folks will open the bars on the hacking tower so that the eaglets can fledge.
According to Amy Alfieri, the Hack Site Coordinator, it sounds like the eaglets will likely start by "branching" on the perch poles in front of the hacking tower. Eventually they will fly out from the hacking tower, but will likely use the tower as a feeding station even after they are flying.
If you can't get a good view of the eaglets from camera #2, then be sure to check out camera #1. Steve Costello, the Vermont photographer who sent us the close-up hacking photos that we posted awhile back, said that if he takes photos of the fledging activity, he'll be sure to share them with us.
Below is a photo showing one of the eaglets in the first box preparing for his fledging debut. He certainly looks ready.
As for the cam nest, recent photos have shown that the youngest is still spending part of his nights in the nest, but it does seem that he's spending a good bit of his daytime hours out of the nest, likely on the nest branches. A sign that he has fledged might be when we don't see him in the nest at night.
Thanks to those who have been monitoring the Eagle Cam nest even though the action there is a little quiet. We appreciate our cam watchers keeping us up-to-date on the actions of the youngest. We'll update the Gallery at the end of this week.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster