January 31, 2006
The Cam Nest
Nest Update: Things are looking good at the nest as the parents dutifully tend to their eggs. We also saw one of the eagles bring a fish to the nest today.
Some cam watchers have asked about the wind and how it impacts the nest. From what we can tell, our Eagle Cam nest is sturdy and well built, and it has held up well during some very windy days lately. Normally a well-built nest can stand for years. In fact, at least four active bald eagle nest sites in the Chesapeake Bay region are known to have been active for 60 years or more.
But the unfortunate fact is that sometimes eagle nests do fall down. During a storm, a nest may lose its support branches or the entire tree may fall. Or sometimes the nest has just grown too large for the tree branches to support it.
If the nest falls when the eggs are still there or when the chicks are small, then the outcome is not good. If the nest falls when the eaglets are older, there is a chance they'll make it if they survive the fall, because the parents will feed them on the ground until they can fly. The main problem with non-fledgling eaglets being on the ground, however, is that they would be vulnerable to land predators.
The Tulsa Audubon Society has an interesting web page on their site where they describe how they rescued two young eaglets after their nest fell down. Be sure to check out the wonderful photos.
Something that is not visible on our Eagle Cam is how much the nest moves in the wind. Our staff and volunteers at the Refuge have the ability to watch live video from the cam (you can, too, if you go to our Visitor Center) and they report that on windy days, the nest really rocks. Imagine clinging to a branch that is 70 feet up in the air during a 45 mph wind gust. It's truly a tribute to the building skills of eagles that their nests hold up for years, and sometimes decades, at a time.
On a side note, thanks to everyone for their photos. We'll update the Gallery in the next few days.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
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