March 14, 2006
Eaglets Up Close
Nest Update: Our explorer chicks continue to enjoy lying near the edge of the nest and looking down. I wonder if they make mom as nervous as they make some of our cam watchers. :-D
Both chicks will be three weeks old this week, so each is regulating its own body temperature now. Some cam watchers have commented on the fact that it looks like the eaglets are sometimes left alone. Keep in mind that we cannot see the front of the nest and we cannot see the surrounding branches, and many times the parent is in one of those areas but isn't visible.
Also, one of our viewers sent in a question that I thought I'd answer here: They asked, "How do the chicks relieve themselves?" The parents likely relieve themselves away from the nest, but raptor chicks that are nest-bound learn early on to eject their feces over the edge. Falconers call this "slicing."
If you're watching the live video when one of the chicks slices, it looks like the chick has quickly shot out white liquid from a squirt gun. And since hawks and eagles have very strong anal muscles, the chick can shoot it really far. In this photo you can see one of our osprey chicks from last year slicing to keep its nest tidy.
Eaglets Up Close
A helpful cam watcher recently sent me a link to a wonderful photo of two eaglets from the Montezuma Wetlands Complex in Seneca Falls, New York. I wanted to share the link because the photo gives you a very detailed look at two developing bald eaglets. Note that these chicks are a little older than ours.
In the photo you can see that the chicks have their second coat of down, and it is much woollier than the white fluffy coat they had when they were first born. Also on top of their heads is the last bit of softer fluff (see my version of the photo with text).
As for their feet, it's hard to miss the big yellow talons. Also notice that the chick in front has a numbered and colored band on its foot. The band will be used to identify the chick after it's fledged.
As for the feathers, notice that on the front chick's right wing you can see its blood feathers -- or new feather shafts.
Feathers come from follicles (tiny bumps) that grow in rows or tracts on the bird's skin. When the feather first comes out, it is rolled and protected inside a tube-like sheath that contains blood vessels, which nourish the feather's growth. The bluish-coloring in the sheaths is blood; this is why they're called blood feathers.
Once the feather has developed and burst through the sheath, the protective tube will fall away or possibly the bird will pull it off while preening. The blood vessels will have withered and the quill will be the white color we are familiar with seeing.
Blood feathers are also called "pin feathers," because the smaller ones look like pins. Blood feathers are sensitive and if broken could cause severe bleeding.
Here is a photo of a Maryland osprey chick that is just beginning to get its feathers, and you can see the large blood feathers as well as some smaller pin feathers.
As for our bald eaglets, here is a photo from last year's Eagle Cam showing the outstretched wing of one of our chicks. You can see the small pin feathers on the end of his wing.
If you'd like to learn more about the different types of bird feathers, here is a good article that discusses the topic in more detail. They also have a photo of an eaglet with his newborn down.
Thanks to everyone for their Gallery submissions. We'll update the Gallery in a couple days.
Until next time
Lisa - webmaster
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