April 17, 2006
Eggs Two and Three
Nest Update: Congrats to the proud parents on their three eggs! Four eggs are still possible, but it seems unlikely as we've never had four eggs at the platform. If the fourth did arrive, however, it would be within the next three days. For those keeping score, here is where we stand:
1st egg
Date laid: 4/11
Possible hatch: 5/19
2nd egg
Date laid: 4/14
Possible hatch: 5/22
3rd egg
Date laid: 4/17
Possible hatch: 5/25
The mother osprey laid the first egg in the evening, the second in the afternoon, and the third in the morning. Apparently time of day for laying an osprey egg is variable. :-)
Here's a photo that provides a good look at the coloring on the osprey eggs. You can see how these eggs contrast with the almost pure-white eagle eggs.
Some might wonder why osprey eggs have coloring but the eagle eggs don't. A prime reason might be because of the raptors' different nesting styles. Ospreys prefer to nest out in the open where they can see the sky all around them, and this means their eggs would benefit from some camouflage, such as mottled markings. Eagles, on the other hand, prefer to nest beneath the crown of a tree, with branches providing shelter overhead, so their eggs are not as exposed and are not in need of camouflage.
These nesting styles might also explain why osprey chicks are taught to drop down flat on the nest when the parent sounds an alarm call, while the eaglets do not seem to exhibit this behavior.
A different type of photo I wanted to mention was taken last Friday, when we caught the ospreys watching a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tractor going by in the impoundment area behind the platform. Our friendly ranger, Tom Miller, told me that they're breaking up the soil for future planting. Tom said that when they do plant, it will likely be Japanese millet -- a fast-growing grass, which produces a lot of edible seeds, grows well in marsh areas, and is favored by migratory ducks.
And one final photo: This rear-end shot shows how unbelievably close our camera came to being sprayed all-white on Monday, right before the egg arrived. After seeing this close call, we should feel highly fortunate that we can see the nest at all. :-)
Gallery Submissions
As long as the Friends of Blackwater website has had raptor cams, we have also had our online Galleries.
The Galleries serve several important purposes, such as allowing cam watchers to get caught up on the action that they might have missed, and also allowing us to have a long-term record of what happened season to season. This is especially useful considering the fact that we frequently get the same raptor couples back at the cam nests.
If you've never submitted photos to the Gallery, but would like to do so in the future, please read our Instruction page for easy directions on how to submit your photos. You can submit one photo or many -- it's up to you. Just include your name in the email if you'd like to receive credit on the Gallery page.
In the past, I've asked cam watchers to send their photos to the gallery@friendsofblackwater.org address. But I'm now asking our viewers to please use another address from this point forward.
First, I'll explain why we're changing the email address. Previously, when you sent a photo to our "gallery" address, I had it set up so the email would be forwarded to my Google email account. The reason for this is that Google handles photo attachments very well and will even show me a thumbnail of your photo before I open it. Very handy!
But our web host's email server has had difficulty forwarding the many photos I receive for the Galleries. Three times in the past several months, I've had major delays in receiving "gallery" emails, and last week the problem happened again where emails were showing up as much as 4 days after they were sent -- in fact, some are still arriving as I write this. So I'm eliminating our web host as the middle man, and asking that you send your photos straight to my Google email account so I can be sure to get them in a timely manner.
If you forget and send your email to the old address, that's fine -- I'll still get it. But I would prefer that our cam watchers get in the habit of sending all cam photos to the address below from now on:
Thanks to our cam watchers for their cooperation as we make this change. I'll be repeating this message in our next Eagle Cam Web Log, so everyone gets the news. And thanks to all our cam watchers who take the time to submit their photos. Your actions add much value to our website and to our educational efforts here at the Refuge.
I'm going to hold off updating both the Osprey and Eagle Cam Galleries for a few days until all the late-arriving emails have a chance to come in.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
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