March 12, 2006
Cam Business
Cam Update: First we want to apologize for our downtime. We believe we have located the problem, and it is with our Linux computer. We plan to have our Linux person check it tomorrow to see if the issue is a software or hardware problem. Then we will know more about what we need to fix.
The good news is that the problem is not the camera itself. We're fortunate that the issue is with the computer and is something we can troubleshoot from the ground. We appreciate your patience as we work through this problem.
While we're talking about the cam, I want to bring up another topic. As our cam watchers probably noticed, our cam slipped out of position a little more last week. At the beginning of the year, we had a huge wind storm that pushed the camera down, and we're actually lucky that we still have sight of the nest. Since then it's been shifting a little more each month. There is no chance the cam mount will fall, as it's attached to the tree, but the cam itself is slipping closer to the trunk.
We have heard that Craig Koppie, our USFWS eagle specialist from last year, might make a trip up to the nest to check on the family and the nest structure. If he does that, we'll have him recenter the cam. This won't happen until the chicks are a few weeks older and more self-reliant, but we just wanted to mention it in case the cam moves further out of position. Also, if Craig goes, we're not sure yet if he will band the chicks like he did with last year's brood.
One other bit of cam business: Since ospreys are now migrating back up the coast from South America, we plan to bring the Osprey Cam back online sometime this week after we get the computer problem solved. When that happens, we will keep the Osprey Cam on a 3-minute refresh until the osprey action picks up. Once the ospreys start building their nest, we will go to our usual 1-minute refresh on both cams.
We understand that many folks will not want to leave the 30-second refresh on the eagle nest, but the reality of the situation is that we are limited by our satellite dish company in how much traffic we can send out from our refuge PC to the Internet. So the best way to work within those limits is to have both cams at a 1-minute refresh for the majority of the nesting seasons.
At this moment, we are trying to get our satellite dish provider to allow us to send more traffic and thus keep a 30-second refresh on both cams, but we haven't heard yet if they're willing to let us do that.
Daredevil Chick
As for the nest action, on Wednesday we had an interesting moment when the chicks decided to accommodate us and move closer to our part of the screen. However, one chick worked its way so close to the edge of the nest, that it was making some of us a little nervous. Fortunately mom was right there standing over the eaglet.
Last year we had a similar incident when one of the chicks decided he wanted to see what was over the edge at night. Keep in mind that the cam nest is about 80 feet off the ground, so for a flightless chick, it's a one-way ticket down. The parent eagle watched the chick closely, and when the chick seemed reluctant to pull back, the parent went over and herded him back to the center of the nest.
Cam watchers have asked if the chicks can tell how high they are. We can't say for sure, but we've never seen one just shuffle over the edge, so the eaglets must have some sense of the danger involved if they try to leave before they can fly. Parents keep a close eye on the chicks, and we can also see that they've added sticks to the edges of the nest. Our osprey parents often added sticks to the perimeter of their nest as the chicks became more mobile. So maybe the eagle parents did it as well in order to provide a little corral to keep the chicks from exploring too far.
And one other nest topic: We noticed last week that as it got warmer, the parent spent more time off the chicks. With the sun beating down and temperatures in the low 70s, the chicks got a little warm in the afternoon on Friday. When this happened, they sometimes sought out shade provided by the eagle parent. This is a behavior that we often saw with our osprey family in the dead of summer when it was very hot. Raptor parents will provide shade, with their bodies and their wings, if the sun gets too intense for the chicks.
Blackwater Photos:
Finally, we want to offer links to some excellent Blackwater Refuge photos. Bob Quinn -- who is a wonderful refuge photographer and a frequent contributor to our website -- just sent me a new eagle photo that I wanted to share. This photo was taken not far from the Eagle Cam nest, so it might be one of our adults.
Also here are the woods where the adult was perching.
You can visit Bob's online galleries and see his other Blackwater photos as well. He has some wonderful shots of nesting ospreys, and also some beautiful photos of bald eagles looking out over the Blackwater River and its marshlands. These are the same areas where the eagles and ospreys fish for food.
Finally, one of Bob's newest creations is a fun animated GIF showing one of our Great blue herons trying to catch a fish. Check it out.
Large Version
And much thanks to Bob for sharing his talents with us.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)