January 27, 2007
Second Egg
Congrats to our parents on the arrival of their second egg! At this point, the big question is whether we'll get a third egg. If a third egg comes, it will likely arrive between Sunday and Monday -- with the best bet being on Monday. In 2005, when we had three eggs on the Eagle Cam, the second egg came on Friday, and the third came on Monday. If we don't have a third egg by Tuesday, it means we probably won't get one. Regarding hatch dates for our two eggs, we're now looking at February 28 and March 2.
Nest Action
I was at the Refuge on Saturday taping some video of the eagles on the Eagle Cam monitor, and I was able to capture several interesting scenes on the nest. I'll try to put together several video clips for my next web log post, and then everyone can see the eagle parents in action.
I wanted to thank everyone who sent in photos of the eggs arriving. We didn't have space to include all the shots, but we still appreciate receiving them. Each Gallery is a long-term record of the nesting season, and it is a valuable resource both for the Refuge staff and for all our cam watchers.
In the recent Gallery update, we had several interesting shots that I wanted to point out. In this shot, the parent has its rear in the air and looks as if it's slicing. "Slicing" is the falconer term for forcefully ejecting the feces. Eagles have strong anal muscles, and can shoot or slice their feces a long way. Often the parents will actually leave the nest to go, but the nest-bound eaglets will slice over the edge in order to keep the nest tidy (osprey chicks do it, too).
In this pair of photos we can see how the nest cup has now been built up -- with little walls -- to create a warm pocket to protect the eggs. And in this photo we can see one parent with a talon on the egg -- possibly in the act of turning the egg. Sometimes the parents will curl their talons into a ball when they turn the egg in order to prevent the egg from being punctured. Here is a photo from our 2005 Eagle Cam season that shows a great example of the rolled-talon technique. Note that this is also how the male would roll his talons when he mounts the female during copulation, so as not to hurt her.
Also in the Gallery were photos showing that the eagle parents have brought in more white pine sprays to the nest -- a behavior that I've mentioned in previous postings of this web log. Something I wanted to share is that one of our cam watchers wrote in recently to say that she saw a TV documentary about African eagles that confirmed the theory we had read that the eagle parents bring white pine sprays to the nest because the pine discourages insects/parasites from attacking the hatchlings. It makes you wonder what eagle in the history of the species made this discovery, and then managed to pass it along to so many other eagles. Possibly the eaglets saw how the parents kept the nest, and then imitated their actions, and that was how it was passed from generation to generation. Amazing.
Blackwater Refuge Satellite Photo
Several cam watchers have asked about the distance between the Osprey Cam and the Eagle Cam. To provide everyone with a point of reference regarding the two cams, I'm posting a satellite photo from Google Earth that shows a section of Blackwater Refuge from the air with the relevant areas labeled (see below). If you look for the Osprey Cam in the photo, you can see how close it is to the river and to the Wildlife Drive (visitors can walk, bike or drive on this road). The little road you see leading to the platform is our staff-only access road, which we use to reach the platform for equipment maintenance. Currently we do not advertise the exact location of the Eagle Cam because we don't want visitors to seek it out (the eagles are more sensitive about having people near their young), but the label in the photo gives you an idea of the general area. It's less than two miles between the cams, and based on the photos we've seen in both galleries, it's very likely that the eagle parents are occasionally using the osprey platform for perching since it's near the river and not far from their home nest.
Chesapeake Bay Magazine
Finally I wanted to alert everyone to a fantastic bald eagle article that is appearing in the February 2007 issue of Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Our good friend Melanie Lynch wrote the article, which discusses Chesapeake Bay bald eagles with a special emphasis on the eagles at Blackwater Refuge. In her entertaining piece, Melanie shares some terrific insights into our local eagle population, and also shares some wonderful details of the trip she made to Blackwater Refuge with USFWS biologist Craig Koppie, when he came to Blackwater Refuge to collect eaglets for the Vermont Bald Eagle Restoration Initiative.
Melanie has been kind enough to post the article online so everyone can read it. You can access the article here. Much thanks to Melanie for her generosity in getting this online for us.
The photos posted with the hard copy of the article were taken by Melanie and three other photographers whose work I've used in my web logs. Below are links to the galleries of these three photographers, so you can check out their amazing eagle and osprey photographs, many of which were taken at Blackwater or other Maryland locations. And if you live in the Maryland area, I strongly suggest you look for the magazine at your local grocery store or bookstore -- the full-size photos in the hard copy of the magazine are truly beautiful.
Article photographers:
Woody Dawson
Bob Quinn
Linda Kanner
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
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