January 20, 2006
Two Eggs and Counting
Our egg count is now at two eggs. If we get a third egg, it should come before Sunday evening. Normally there is about 2-3 days between eggs.
Our email is working again. We were down for about a day and a half, so I'm just getting caught up with photos of the second egg. Much thanks to everyone who sent them.
The camera is holding steady for now. Hopefully even if it moves again, we'll still keep sight of the eggs. Someone asked if the camera could fall out of the tree. Not very likely -- the base is screwed into the tree, so something would have to pull very hard for it to come out. Right now it's just moving side to side, but not out.
Over the last couple days we saw some interesting behavior shots. One shot showed the eagle parent preening its feathers by taking oil from the gland at the base of its tail. The bird puts this oil on its feathers to clean and weatherproof them.
Also we saw a great shot of an eagle parent throwing its head back and calling out. The parent might have been calling out for its partner or it might have been calling out in warning to a trespasser flying over the nest. The air space above the nest is prime territory that the eagles will defend, and they don't like it when birds fly too close.
We have a special photo to share showing a close-up of an Alaska eagle calling out. (Click on the photo below for a larger image). This photo is courtesy of one our cam watchers -- Woody Dawson. Woody has been kind enough to share some of his amazing photos from his visits to Alaska, so you'll be seeing more of his eagle shots in the future. Thank you to Woody for his generosity.
One other topic: Someone wrote in to ask if we know anything about last year's eaglets. The eaglet that went to Vermont has not been spotted that we know of, but she likely came south for the winter. In fact, there is a chance she returned to the Blackwater area. As for the other two eaglets (which fledged at Blackwater), no one has seen them, but that doesn't mean they aren't around. The bands on their feet were very small and would be hard to spot without a powerful scope. The two Blackwater eaglets might still be in the general area, or they may have begun exploring in nearby states. Immature eagles will often range over long distances while they're maturing and progressing to the age when it's time to settle down (about 4 or 5 years old).
Finally, in case you missed it, be sure to download our Eagle Watchers' Guide (2.5 MB PDF file), which provides eagle facts and highlights from last year's nesting season.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
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