First, I want to thank all those who participated in our amazing eagle adventure this year. It was our first online Eagle Cam, and we think it was a tremendous success, as we were privileged to watch three eaglets being born and then growing up to fledge. The added bonus of seeing Porthos go to Vermont to become a "pioneer" was just icing on the cake.

We especially appreciate all the watchers who stuck with us when the cam was accidentally moved right after the final chick was born. We've learned a lot from this season, and we hope to make some equipment changes next time that will make things go a bit more smoothly. But overall, we are very pleased with the success of the cam and with the astounding amount of cam watchers from around the world who tuned in to watch. During the height of the cam's popularity, we had watchers from Russia, Germany, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Italy, England, Wales, Canada (Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia), and many states across the U.S. And these were just some of the viewers we knew about!

At this point, the Friends of Blackwater have every intention to bring the Eagle Cam back in December 2005 for the next bald eagle breeding season here at Blackwater Refuge.

As a final "thank you" to our Eagle Cam watchers, we are offering two beautiful sunset photos taken by photographer Alan Becker. Much thanks to Alan for allowing us to post these. Both photos were taken from the Refuge Wildlife Drive and show the Blackwater River, which is where the young eagles and their parents are now hunting for food (as are the osprey parents). The photos really do justice to the beauty that is Blackwater Refuge. We hope you enjoy, and thank you again for making our first Eagle Cam season a whole lot of fun.

For PC: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, right-click on it and choose "Set As Wallpaper" or "Set As Background" from the pop-up menu.

For Mac: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, click and hold on the image. Choose "Save This Image As" or "Download Image to Disk" and save the image to your hard drive. Go to the "Control Panels" and choose "Appearance" or "Desktop Patterns," and select the image as your desktop image.

Until next season,
Lisa - webmaster

Also, our cam technician will be keeping a close eye on the equipment, but with one less person on duty, we might not be as speedy to notice a problem, so we ask for your patience if any technical glitches occur.

At the Eagle Cam nest, we've been seeing Aramis with the occasional adult and sometimes on his own, but for most of the day he is gone. I asked our ranger if anyone knows if Aramis has fledged, based on the view from their TV monitor and field observations. He said they can't be sure, but he saw the nest through the trees not long ago and could not see an eagle in it or around it. Nothing conclusive, but it adds to our belief that Aramis might be flying.

Also, we wanted to pass along a couple links to other cams where eaglets will be fledging or are in the process of fledging. We didn't get to see much of our own eaglets learning to fly, but these two cams might provide some better views of eaglets leaving the nest.

Eagle Cam - Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Eagle Cam - Fort St. Vrain (Xcel Energy)

Finally, we wanted to pass along some news from Vermont. As some may have noticed by checking out the Vermont Initiative website, they have new eaglets in the hacking tower. According to Lil Lumbra, their media person, they've added another three eaglets. Two eaglets are from a rehabilitator named Tom Riccardi (from Massachusetts) and one is an orphan eaglet found in Maryland. They brought the orphaned eaglet to Tom's place a few weeks ago, but it was too young to go in with the first group of birds.

Also, they will be getting two more eaglets from a rehabilitator in New York in about a week. They have set up the boxes so that the center one is still accessible to the first group of fledged eaglets in case they need to come back and feed.

Keep an eye on the birds for me!

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

Something else we saw on the Eagle Cam yesterday was what appeared to be the youngest staring up at the camera. We've put this photo side-by-side with our wallpaper photograph to show how much the littlest eaglet has changed.

In other news, Steve Costello, the photographer with the Vermont Bald Eagle Restoration Initiative, recently sent another photo from the day the eaglets were first put into the hacking tower, and the photo offers a good look at the eaglet's powerful feet, including one of the eaglet's talons, which has been banded with a visual ID band.

The claws on a bird of prey are called talons, and on the eagle they're comprised of four powerful toes that can break through tough fish skin or animal skin and then hold tight while carrying the prey home.

The eagle's talons are similar to the osprey's in that they both have tiny spicules on the toes (spicules are little bumps that help the raptors hold onto slippery fish). But the osprey has one advantage that the eagle does not have -- an opposable toe. One of the osprey's front toes can rotate backwards so that two toes are holding the fish from the back and two from the front. An eagle can only hold the fish with one back toe (called the hallux). This means an osprey has an easier time holding onto a thrashing fish.

Something else worth noting about the bald eagle's feet is that the feathers do not go all the way down the leg (called the tarsus), unlike a golden eagle, which has a fully feathered leg. The reason for the difference is that the bald eagle's primary diet is fish, where as the golden eagle's diet is primarily birds and small mammals. The bald eagle's lower body often gets wet during fishing, so in order for its legs to dry faster and to reduce drag in the water, the legs, or tarsi, are bare of feathers.

Also, check out this graphic to learn more about the legs and talons of a bald eagle.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

Also, we're very pleased to post a new wallpaper showing our three musketeers from the Eagle Cam nest. The photo below was taken by Craig Koppie when he first went up to our nest to fix the camera and check on the eaglets back in early April. He was kind enough to forward this to us today, and we thought it made a nice memento of our little crew, especially now that they're starting to go their separate ways. Follow the instructions below to put it on your desktop. [Edited to Add: In case you're not sure, in the back left is Porthos (the VT eaglet), in the back right is Athos, and in front is the youngest, Aramis]

As for news from the Eagle Cam nest, we've seen a couple shots of Aramis getting a meal over the last couple days, so he's still checking in with the parents. But we've only seen a little of Athos over the last couple weeks, so he's probably close to being independent.

For PC: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, right-click on it and choose "Set As Wallpaper" or "Set As Background" from the pop-up menu.

For Mac: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, click and hold on the image. Choose "Save This Image As" or "Download Image to Disk" and save the image to your hard drive. Go to the "Control Panels" and choose "Appearance" or "Desktop Patterns," and select the image as your desktop image.

Now onto Susquehanna River eagles...

Several of our cam watchers have told us that they watch a popular eagle nest that can be seen near the Susquehanna River. One of those watchers kindly sent us the beautiful photo that appears below showing a time-lapse photo of the adult eagle coming into the nest. Click on the thumbnail.

Since we're celebrating the fledging of the eaglets in Vermont, it seemed like a good time to share the photo and also the two below that show the parent in the same nest with what appears to be two eaglets. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions. And a big thanks to Woody for the use of his photos.

The Susquehanna River is a well-known river in these parts because it is vital to the existence of the Chesapeake Bay. About 12,000 years ago, melting glaciers flooded the Susquehanna River Valley, thus creating the Bay. Today the Susquehanna River provides 50% of the freshwater entering the Chesapeake Bay, which is itself the largest estuary in America.

The National Geographic website offers a wonderful interactive zoom map of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Visit their website and then zoom in to the area above Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and you can see the Susquehanna River and how it flows into the Bay. The map might take a few minutes to fully load.

The site also discusses some of the many troubles that the Chesapeake Bay is experiencing due to pollution and development throughout the watershed -- an area which covers six states: Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as the District of Columbia. The effort to save the Chesapeake Bay is an ongoing one, and groups like the Friends of Blackwater work to not only protect Blackwater Refuge, but to also protect islands in the Chesapeake Bay as well as the quality of the Bay itself.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

As we mentioned earlier, the bars came down at the Vermont hacking tower early this morning, and the eaglets from Maryland were allowed to fledge. Some of our helpful cam watchers caught the action for us; much thanks for their dedication. You can see several shots here showing the bars and a person visible in front of the box.

Amy, the Hack Site Coordinator, sent an email this morning to let us in on what it was like watching the eaglets fledge:

"What an exciting morning! The bars came down at 3am and all went smoothly. The first bird from box 2 flew at 5:30am! What a great sight. It flew to the pine trees to the left of the tower. The second bird (we don't know from which box) flew at 6:10am, and the third at 6:37am.

There was a lot of mingling among the birds on the deck before they flew, so we were unable to determine which was which. Our scopes just weren't powerful enough to read the bands from where we were located. As of now, 3 birds remain at the tower, flapping and eating intermittently. The 3 flyers are hanging out in the pine trees behind the tower.

Their first flights were far from graceful, but they each landed well and have been hopping around from branch to branch. One of the flyers did have a bit of sustained flight with some tough maneuvering among the trees! It was spectacular.

These birds are great and doing well. We have food placed on several platforms in the vicinity of the tower should they wish to eat or are able to find those sources. If not, we anticipate they will return to the tower at night to eat and sleep."

Thanks to Amy for sharing such a rewarding experience. We're very happy that the birds seem to be adjusting to their new freedom. Now that they have fledged in Vermont, Vermont is their home and where they will return when they are ready to breed. Best of luck to all of them.

As you may have noticed on the Vermont Bald Eagle Restoration Initiative website, it states that they will be getting a new batch of bald eaglets around mid-June. From what we understand, they will be from Massachusetts and Maine.

We took a short video this morning of one of the eaglets in our box flapping his wings outside on the perch. This is a 2.2MB MPEG movie. Right-click on the link below and choose "Save Target As" to download the short clip to your hard drive so you can view it.

Back at our cam nest: Last night it appeared that the youngest eaglet did not spend most or all of the night in the nest -- this was the first time he seemed to be roosting in the trees with the rest of the family. Later this morning he was back at the nest being fed by one of the parents. We're not sure if he has fledged, but he seems to be getting closer, and he will be our last for this season. We'll continue to watch the Eagle Cam until we are sure all have fledged.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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

From the cam nest: We've seen the youngest eaglet, Aramis, still getting a lot of food from the parents, so we assume he has not fledged. The parents are doing a good job of taking care of him, which shouldn't surprise us, as they've been excellent parents. Athos, the oldest, only gets occasional meals from the adults, so we continue to assume he has fledged and is getting a good bit of his food elsewhere.

Also, one of our cam watchers suggested we do a comparison photo showing how the eaglets have grown, so here is a photo that shows how their bodies have changed over 11 weeks. Amazing growth for less than 3 months! Click on the thumbnail.

Finally, most cam watchers have probably noticed that the cam has been pushed down again. We think the wing-flapping eaglets might have done it. We're too close to an empty nest now to fix it, but we're working on ways to make the cam more secure for next season (December 2005).

Good news from Vermont: We asked Amy Alfieri, the Hack Site Coordinator, if we will be able to see our eaglet fledge on camera #2 at the Vermont Initiative website. She informed us that, "As of now, the plan is to open the hack boxes Wed. June 1 overnight. So you will be able to see the opened boxes on June 2. We will probably move the camera then, but our night attendent may do it sooner the next time he goes in to fill water bowls." We thank Amy for being so helpful in making sure we are kept current with all the happenings in VT.

Bird Banding: And on a slightly different topic, we talked about the banding of our cam eaglets awhile back. At the San Francisco peregrine falcon cam website, they have a great gallery posted that shows the banding of their falcon chicks. Note that in addition to the silver U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bands, these falcons also received a VID band -- or visual identification band -- that can be more easily read using a pair of binoculars. Be sure to visit their banding gallery as the photos offer wonderful close-ups of the bands and the adorable chicks.

Now onto eagle feather uses...

In the last post we talked about the different types of eagle feathers and how the eagles use them to soar when searching for prey and when migrating. Another unique aspect of eagle feathers is that they are highly valued by Native Americans for religious and cultural purposes, such as marriage, healing, and naming ceremonies.

Traditional American Indian beliefs state that the Creator made all the birds of the world and signaled out the eagle as Master of the Sky. Because the eagle flies higher and sees farther, it is closer to Father Sky and is capable of carrying messages to the Creator. When one wears an eagle feather, the Creator takes notice; thus eagle feathers are seen as a valuable possession. An Indian brave, warrior, or chieftain would be highly honored to have earned an eagle feather through acts of bravery.

Under U.S. and Canadian law, a permit is required for anyone to possess authentic bald eagle or golden eagle feathers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service runs The National Eagle Repository where feathers from dead eagles are collected and distributed to Native Americans so they can legally use them for their ceremonial purposes.

According to the National Eagle Repository, the demand is great and "applicants can expect to wait about 3 and one half years for a whole bird order to be filled. Approximately 95% of the orders are for whole eagles. Currently, there are over 5000 people on the waiting list for approximately 1000 eagles the Repository receives each year."

This high demand often leads to eagle feathers being sold on the black market, where eagle traffic amounts to millions of dollars each year, and a single bald eagle feather head dress can bring more than $10,000. Eagle items are sought not only by Native Americans but also by collectors from as far away as Japan, Germany, Britain and eastern Europe. Just recently in Canada, an illegal eagle operation was discovered and exposed to authorities.

Possession of live or dead eagles or their feathers, without special permits, is a federal offense, punishable by stiff fines and possible prison sentences, but unfortunately that does not discourage some parties from killing eagles and moving them across the border between the U.S. and Canada.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works hard to disrupt black market activities and pursue poachers using their Office of Law Enforcement and the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory.

Another helpful factor is that less discriminating buyers can now find companies on the Internet that make imitation eagle feathers, which greatly resemble the real item, while taking nothing from the eagles.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

On the nest today we saw a parent eagle feeding a lone chick again. We also saw a cute shot of the youngest eaglet looking longingly over the side of the nest. It shouldn't be too long before he is flying himself.

And we have some interesting photos from the Vermont cam. One photo shows an eaglet with its wings wide, getting closer to fledging time. The other photo shows the little fish that come out on the eaglets' food tray.

Now onto the topic of eagle feathers...

Since all the eaglets, both here and in Vermont, will be flying soon, it seemed like a good time to talk about eagle feathers.

A full-grown eagle has over 7000 feathers on its body and has a large wingspan of 6-7 feet (upwards of 8 feet on the larger female). The eagle's large wingspan means it must use a great deal of energy to flap its wings. Consequently, bald eagles don't do that much flapping, but instead spend a great deal of their time soaring, which requires about a 20th or less the power needed for flapping.

Eagles use soaring or gliding when they migrate and also when they hunt and fish. Using thermals and updrafts, an eagle can soar continuously for hours.

Eagles have several types of feathers on their bodies, and these include the primary and secondary wing feathers, tail feathers, plume feathers and body feathers. The photo to the right shows the wing flight feathers and tail feathers with their parts labeled (click on the thumbnail).

The ten primary feathers are on the end of the wing and have different shapes, with the outer feathers being stiff and narrow; this is because they meet the air first and must provide wind resistance. These outer primaries are also notched and they can open like fingers, which can help a flying eagle to achieve lift and drag.

The inner primaries and secondary feathers are flatter and overlap to provide a smooth lifting surface.

An immature eagle's feathers will not take on the characteristic coloring of the adults until they are fully mature at about 4-5 years of age. Click on the thumbnail photo to the right to see a full set of bald eagle feathers. The image shows the different feather types, as well as the color variations between adult and immature eagles.

If you'd like to learn more about how eagles use thermals and updrafts to soar, then be sure to visit this website for more info.

In the next post we'll talk about the use of eagle feathers in Native American culture.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

We saw an interesting exchange on the cam nest Tuesday morning, where the oldest eaglet suddenly appeared with a very small fish (much smaller than anything the adults normally bring), and then proceeded to eat it all himself without sharing any with the youngest, who tried to get a piece. During the meal, we didn't see an adult, but one came on the scene not long after, holding its own much larger fish, which the same parent began eating.

We've also seen shots where the parent eagle has been feeding only one eaglet and not two. In addition, there have been several nights now where the youngest eaglet has been alone in the nest for long periods. It's likely the oldest is spending some of his time roosting in the tree, possibly with the parents. So when we add it all up, we think there's a good chance Athos is airborne.

And speaking of the cam nest, we wanted to post this great photo we have showing our Eagle Cam nest from the ground. It was taken awhile back using a telephoto lens so as not to disturb the birds, and it shows one parent on the branch watching over the eaglets in the nest. You can also see our camera attached to the tree. We thought you'd enjoy this perspective as you can see the branches where the eaglets are often sitting these days. Click on the thumbnail photo for a larger version.

On a technical note: Several cam watchers have written in to ask if we could move the camera so we could see more of the eaglets flying. Our fixed lens camera is positioned in just about the only place we could put it, so we're committed to the view we have now. We could go up and try to move it higher, but we don't want to spook the youngest eaglet into jumping out of the nest prematurely. We are looking into ways that we could offer a more flexible view next season, using something like a zoom camera. We've learned a lot in our first Eagle Cam season, so we'll try to put it to good use this December when we hopefully start another year with the eagles.

Finally, we have some news and photos from Vermont. Amy Alfieri, the Hack Site Coordinator, reports that she thinks the birds from different nests are getting along well. She says that the volunteers monitor the eaglets' behavior and they haven't seen anything too troublesome; in fact, she often sees the eaglets playing.

She also reports that they'll likely wait before opening the boxes until all the birds are ready to go. She said normally the time difference between those who are ready and those who are not is only a few days.

We also want to share two new photos from Vermont. Steve Costello, the Vermont Initiative photographer, sent these beautiful close-up photos of the Maryland eaglets at the hacking tower (we're not sure if either is ours). Click on the thumbnails below for a larger version.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

"The doors to the hack box will probably be removed around the first week of June. The bird's behavior will indicate when it will happen. As they become more restless, flapping wings, etc., we will remove the doors. In front of the hack box is a 3' wide platform with areas for perching. We want the birds to venture out of the box before they can fly so that they learn to come back to the box for food. This is called branching."

So the VT eaglets will be doing the same thing that our cam nest eaglets are doing in preparation for flight. Now onto bird banding...

When Craig Koppie was in the nest about ten days ago, he banded all three eaglets before he left. If you look closely at the eaglets' talons, you can sometimes see a silver-colored band on one of their feet. This brings up a good opportunity to talk a little about the important science of bird banding.

Banding -- or ringing in Europe -- has been going on for centuries, with the earliest recorded banding done by Henry IV, who banded his peregrine falcons.

Today, birds are banded in order to help biologists learn more about dispersal, migration, behavioral and social structure, life span, and population growth. Much valuable information has been learned about bird life through the use of bands.

Today there are four common types of bird bands: butt-end bands (the most common), lock-on bands used on hawks and owls, rivet bands used on eagles, and hard metal bands used on long-living birds or birds living in harsh salt water environments. Bands come in many sizes so they can accommodate all types of birds, and as the photo to the right proves, no bird is too small for a band (click on thumbnail photo).

When Craig banded the eaglets, he used a rivet band, which is a common band for eagles. The rivet band is made of a harder metal than the lock-on band, and this sturdiness prevents the band from being damaged by the eagle's powerful beak. Craig states that the bands do not heat up in the sun and won't harm the eaglets' feet.

Federal bands, such as the eaglets' are wearing, are issued in the U.S. and Canada and have 8 or 9 numbers with the words "WRITE BIRD BANDING LAUREL MD 20708" or "AVISE BIRD BAND WASH DC." ("Avise" loosely means "advise" in several languages). Some bands also have 1-800-327 BAND -- the toll-free number for the Bird Banding Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, which collects federal bird band reports.

While banding is important, what is equally important is that individual citizens help bird biologists by reporting when they find either a band or a bird that is wearing a band. In 2001, 1,049,646 birds were banded in the U.S. and Canada, and 97,204 recoveries were reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory. As for eagles, the count that year was 539 banded, 159 recovered (of course, not all that were recovered were banded the same year).

If you find a band or a bird that is wearing a band, there are several ways you can report it. First, visit the Bird Banding Laboratory website to determine what kind of band you have found and whether it's one that the Lab collects data on. Then you can either phone in a report, send it through the mail, or file it electronically on the Lab's website. The Lab will need to know the band number, and how, when, and where the band or bird was found.

On their website you can also find information about filing a report for auxiliary marked birds, such as those with only neck collars, colored leg bands, wing tags, or radio tags.

And if you find a band that has unreadable numbers, you can send it to the Lab and they can retrieve the numbers using a process known as etching, which employs a strong acid solution to bring out the band's inscription. Visit the Lab website for instructions on the proper way to mail in a band.

The North American Bird Banding Program is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Interior and the Canadian Wildlife Service. The two countries' banding offices use the same bands and reporting forms. The 1-800-327 BAND is a toll-free number from anywhere in Canada, the U.S. and most parts of the Caribbean.

Visit the Bird Banding Laboratory website if you'd like to learn more about the history of banding or if you'd like to learn how a person becomes a licensed bander.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

And before we get to Craig's comments, I wanted to mention something our cam watchers have surely noticed on our site: that the eaglets are out of view quite a bit these days. Our cam technician reports that they have taken to standing on the branches around the nest -- definitely a precursor to flying. In fact, here's an interesting photo showing only their shadows. The oldest could fledge in the next couple weeks. We'll let you know if we see signs that it has happened.

Also, here's an interesting pair of cam shots from today that showed the eaglets feasting on a fish by themselves. They're definitely growing up. Now onto Craig...

Craig Koppie, our tree-climbing endangered species specialist from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, was kind enough to give us his time so we could get answers to our most frequently-asked-questions regarding the Vermont hacking move. To give our cam watchers some background, Craig has been working with bald eagle and peregrine falcon recovery since 1977. He is a raptor biologist, bander, and master falconer and has personal experience caring for raptors in captivity.

First, we asked Craig if he could speculate on the sex of the second eaglet -- Porthos --based on the info he had after handling the bird. Craig said he believed that there is an 85% chance that the eaglet in Vermont is female. [A female musketeer -- it's about time] :-)

We also asked him if it would be a problem when the oldest eaglet at the cam nest fledges before the youngest. Craig believes it's likely it would not -- he said that the oldest eaglet leaving the nest first would encourage the youngest to want to fly, too. Craig also believes that the parents -- who have done such an amazing job raising the three young -- would most likely continue to take care of the youngest until he becomes airborne as well. After the birds fledge, they will still continue to use the nest as home base and the parents will continue to offer them food if they need it.

Craig also offered an interesting observation of something we can't see on the cam. While he was making the decision about which eaglet to take, he watched the eaglets on the video monitor at the Refuge to judge their maturity, and he said that when the parent brings a meal, there is a great deal of jumping about by the eaglets, who put up quite a ruckus over the idea of incoming food.

Regarding the Vermont hacking project, we asked Craig why the hacking box did not have straw or grass in it because we thought that would be more comfortable. Craig said that while some hacking projects use such items, he believes the Vermont biologists are not using it because it would present a real danger for fungal infection. Both straw and grass collect moisture -- from excrement, from driving rain, and even from food. Stagnant moisture in the nest would encourage the growth of fungi. If the eaglets were to cut their toe pad on a splinter or some other box item, then they could develop a staph infection such as bumblefoot, which can lead to the loss of a talon and eventually death if not treated properly. This would be especially problematic if it occurred just as the eaglets were about to fledge. (Note: Lil Lumbra from the Vermont Initiative confirmed that they are now using the same type of nesting material that they used last year when they successfully hacked 8 eaglets).

Moving the eaglets inside would not be a good alternative because the biologists want the eaglets out in the elements so they are prepared for when they leave the hacking tower for good. Even though the hacking tower is now their home, in about 3 weeks they will fledge and only use it as a platform from which to feed until they are catching their own food. The tower is meant to be a short-term home. Once they're independent, they will hopefully return to Vermont to breed because it will be where they fledged, but they will not return to the hacking tower to nest.

We also asked Craig about the water bowls. He said that unlike pet birds, raptors get most of their water from food. Fish skin, for example, holds a good deal of moisture. Craig believes the bowls are provided more as an added convenience, since the eaglets are getting water from the items fed to them by the eaglet care team.

We asked Craig if the eaglets will miss not having a parent around to teach them important skills. Craig reassured us that the parents are not needed for eaglets to become fully independent adults. He said flying is instinctual and hunting skills will develop in time. When the hacked eaglets first start collecting their own food, they will do what all eaglets do -- they will first focus on carrion, as well as fish in shallow waters because those are the easiest types of food to collect. Eventually they will learn to efficiently snatch fish out of the water with their talons. During this learning period, food will still be provided at the hacking tower until the eaglets can take care of themselves.

Finally we asked Craig if the Vermont eaglet will likely return to the Chesapeake Bay area during the eaglet's "bachelor" years and during migration seasons. Craig said he thought there was a good chance the eaglet could come back to the general area of its birth during these times, and then return to Vermont to breed. Craig said he thinks it would be worthwhile to put radio transmitters on the raptors so their migration could be tracked and the biologists could learn if hacked raptors return to their home nest areas at any time during the year. He said he hopes they can find funding for such a project because he believes the information would be valuable.

Craig stated that he believes the team in Vermont is providing high quality care for the eaglets. We want to thank him for taking the time to answer our many questions.

In our next log post, we'll talk about bird banding and the rivet bands that Craig put on the eaglets' feet.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

Patti teaches ninth grade Biology and twelfth grade Anatomy & Physiology at Dieruff High School where her students have become "eagle addicts" and have enjoyed watching the eaglets grow and prosper. We thank each of the students for tuning in and cheering on our raptors.

Patti was the first to submit the names of The Three Musketeers: Athos (eaglet #1), Porthos (eaglet #2), and Aramis (eaglet #3) . We had other cam watchers submit these names, but only the first can be eligible for the prize. Patti will receive a Blackwater eagle cap and certificates of appreciation from Blackwater Refuge and WildCam.com.

The Refuge staff thought that these were fitting names since our band of three eaglets have stuck together through thick and thin. Congratulations to Patti, and much thanks to all our contestants for giving us their time and sharing their creativity with us. We had a terrific turnout!

By the way, our cam watchers might want to hang on to their names in case we are lucky enough to have another "Name the Osprey Chicks Competition" this summer.

As a thanks to all the cam watchers who entered, we're offering the special desktop wallpaper featured below, which shows our intrepid musketeers as they went from little egg to mighty raptor. Follow the instructions below to put it on your desktop, and thanks again for entering!

Extra note: Craig Koppie was kind enough to offer his time today to answer many of our questions regarding the Vermont hacking move and the taking of the second eaglet. I'll be posting his answers in the next day or two in our Web Log.

For PC: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, right-click on it and choose "Set As Wallpaper" or "Set As Background" from the pop-up menu.

For Mac: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, click and hold on the image. Choose "Save This Image As" or "Download Image to Disk" and save the image to your hard drive. Go to the "Control Panels" and choose "Appearance" or "Desktop Patterns," and select the image as your desktop image.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

First, the Refuge staff has picked a winner to the "Name the Eaglets Competition," but we're waiting to get in contact with that person so we can get permission to use their name in the announcement. Once we have that, we can share the winner with everyone. We also have a special surprise desktop wallpaper to post as a thanks to all who entered but did not win. We had a great turnout!

Also, a little eaglet note -- today it looked like the youngest eaglet was taking food from mom but was also tearing off his own food. He may have been doing this before, but we had an especially good shot of it today. Click on the thumbnail.

Also, both the eagle and osprey galleries have not had an update while we've been working through all the eaglet moving excitement. We'll try to get both updated this week. Thanks to everyone for their excellent photos.

And happy Mother's Day to the eagle mom. :-)

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

We were told that eaglet #2 would be sexed, so we're trying to get that information. We're also trying to confirm that our eaglet is on camera #2 at the Vermont website. Finally some have asked why the tower box is not more like a nest and will the folks there "help" the eagles learn to fly or hunt. These are good questions and we'll try to get answers to them.

Finally, we wanted to say something about eaglet relations in our cam nest now that we have a brood of two. Several cam watchers have written in to say that they are pleased eaglet #3 was left with eaglet #1. It seemed to those who watch the cam regularly that eaglet #2 was rather competitive with eaglet #3. The competition between them was normal sibling rivalry and never seemed life-threatening -- and it did seem to dissipate as they got older -- but there was clearly a competitiveness between them that might have stemmed from the fact that they were the youngest and the third was at such a size disadvantage.

It's impossible to guarantee what kind of relationship eaglets #1 and #3 will have in the future before they fledge -- they're wild animals so no one knows for sure, and that's why we watch. But if past relations are any indication, their relationship could be relatively smooth.

If we get more information from Vermont, we'll be sure to share it. At the very least, in the near future we should be able to watch the eaglets fledge on the cameras at the Vermont website. Based on eaglet #2's age, that should happen this month.

A technical note: If anyone is having a problem seeing the cams on the Vermont website (for example if you're getting little red X's instead of the image), their website uses a small software program called Axis Media Control to display the cams. If your computer does not automatically download this, you can download it here: It's the first download at the top of the page. If you install that on your computer, you won't keep getting the red X's, and you should be able to see the cam image.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster