Technical Update

First, an update on the state of the cam. We’re not sure if our power problem is back, but our cam technician hopes to go out later today (after church) to check on the equipment. We have some time to troubleshoot the problem now that we’re still several weeks from any possible egg laying, but we need to figure out why our solar panel seems to be malfunctioning on random occasions. At some point we might have to order a new panel, although we had hoped to avoid that as they are rather expensive. Latest Update: We’ve got the cam running again, but we’ll be keeping an eye on it.

Immature Eagles

We had some excitement this past week when at least two different immature bald eagles spent some time on the Eagle Cam nest. We can’t be sure if either of the birds were former cam eaglets, but naturally we like to think that they might have been — and that is certainly a possibility.

The older bird (with the white coloring) appeared to be about 3 years old and the more brownish bird appeared to be about a year old. Immature bald eagles don’t reach breeding age until they’re about 4 to 5 years old, and that is when they exhibit a completely white head and tail.

To help you visualize how a brown bald eagle morphs into a white-headed bald eagle, here is a photo from our friend Woody Dawson showing an immature eagle that is about 3-1/2 years old. You can see from this beautiful photo that the juvenile is getting close to having a completely white head and tail — which are the surest signs of a mature bald eagle.

I wanted to point out one other set of photos from the recent Gallery update — in these photos we can see another example of bonding from our eagle couple. In the first shot you can see the one eagle is rubbing the back of the other eagle. This is another type of pre-nesting behavior that the couple uses to cement the bond that they will need over the next few months as they attempt to raise another generation of eaglets.

It might seem strange to think of birds bonding, but it’s important to remember that once the female produces the eggs, she will be relying on the male to be a strong defender of the nest and to be a good provider. She will also be relying on him to occasionally incubate the eggs so she can take a break. As for the male, he will be relying on the female to be a reliable mother and a loyal mate, and occasionally do her part to hunt for food and protect the nest from intruders. So the couple really are making a commitment to one another as they begin nesting season, and both of them will have to perform the duties of a responsible partner if they are to produce a healthy and viable family for the new year.

Interesting Photos

I have a couple interesting non-cam photos to share in this blog entry. First, Susan Feldhuhn — a cam watcher and volunteer with Tri-State Bird Rescue — alerted me to an amusing eagle story that was posted on Marie Winn’s blog. If you don’t already know, Marie Winn was the author of the famous hawk book Red-tails in Love: Pale Male’s Story – A True Wildlife Drama in Central Park [Note: if you haven't read the book, run out and buy it tomorrow.]

Marie Winn’s blog often has interesting information about the birds in Central Park in New York City, but she also sometimes shares bird photos and stories that are sent to her from around the country. In this blog post, she shares a letter from a woman in California who was having issues with a local bald eagle nest. Read down to the bottom of the post to find out what the eaglets are doing in the photos that Marie has posted. Amazingly enough, the photos show fledglings from an Ohio nest that were actually using a backyard trampoline to practice their flapping. It’s really funny to think of the eaglets taking turns jumping up and down so they could improve their flapping skills.

In our next interesting photo, Aline — who is one of our cam watchers from Quebec, Canada — passed along this beautiful photo she took of the snow geese migration in her home area. Aline was kind enough to point out some other interesting tidbits about the photo. The mountain in the background is Mont-Sainte-Anne, which hosts a famous ski resort. And at the bottom of the mountain you can see a long building — this is Grosse Île (or Grosse Island) and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site of Canada.

This island served as a main port of arrival for immigrants to Canada and as a quarantine station for the Port of Quebec. And the Irish Memorial National Historic Site is a tribute to the importance that immigration has played in Canada’s history and is also a remembrance of the tragic experience that many Irish immigrants endured during the Great Irish Famine, which reached a climax in 1847. During that time, many immigrants fled Ireland due to the famine but then later died of typhus on Grosse Île, which then became the largest Irish famine burial ground located outside of Ireland. Thanks to Aline for sharing this insight into an important part of Canada’s history.

Nest Reminder

Just another reminder for those who are just joining us — based on the previous years of watching the Eagle Cam, we hope to see the first egg sometime around late January. Once the female begins laying eggs, we might see as many as three eggs total, but we’ll more likely see two. There is a small chance that we won’t see any eggs, as sometimes eagles go through the nesting preparations but don’t lay any eggs, or sometimes physical problems might prevent the female from producing eggs, but so far we’re feeling hopeful that we’ll see another batch of eaglets this year.

Thanks again for joining us for another season, and thanks for sending in your photos.

Until next time,
Lisa – webmaster
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eagles, wildlife refuge, eagle cam, Blackwater Refuge, Maryland