We know our cam watchers are worried about our parents and their two eggs. The situation as it stands now is the Eastern Shore got a lot of snow and drifting due to the high winds. We hear the local roads are not in great shape, so our cam technician is having trouble getting to the Visitor Center to check our computer. We believe the power might have gone out in the storm (due to the high winds) and our computer just needs to be rebooted — which must be done manually.
As soon as the Visitor Center is open and the road to the VC is passable, our cam technician or ranger will go to the building and check the computer. We do have a power back-up device on our computer system, but it only lasts for about 30 minutes, so if the power doesn’t come back on in that time range, the computer needs to be rebooted. Once the computer is back on, we expect the cams will be operating again, as we don’t think any damage was done to our field equipment.
So when we get the Eagle Cam back online, what do we expect to see? Well, we hope a parent is on the eggs and we hope to see a relatively bare patch around the clutch when the parent stands up. This would mean the eggs were probably kept warm throughout the storm and the parents were able to keep the deep snow from taking over the whole nest.
As we’ve said before, we have very experienced parents at our Eagle Cam nest, and that has been a big advantage this season. As those of you who have followed our Osprey Cam know, young “newbie” parents sometimes bail in bad weather and don’t have the perseverance that older and wiser parents do, so I’m just glad we have a mature couple at our Eagle Cam nest, or the eggs might have been lost at this point in the season.
Other Eagle Cam Nests
As some of you may have heard, it looks like the NCTC Eagle Cam in West Virginia (at the National Conservation Training Center) is going to lose all their eggs. We hear the pair laid a second egg during the last snow storm and then laid a third egg during this storm, but they’ve been on and off the egg(s), so it doesn’t look good. As bad as our storms have been — and we have officially set a record in the Washington, DC area for the most snow recorded in a single season — the West Virginia folks have gotten it even worse, so we express our sympathy for the WV fans, as they’ve had rotten luck this year.
Some cam watchers have asked if more eggs could be laid — like after the snow melts a bit. It’s possible for a couple to lay a second clutch if their first clutch was lost early in the season, but we have to keep in mind that laying eggs is a drain on the female’s body, and she can only lay so many in a season. So after three eggs, there might not be more than one or two that the female could lay — at the most. But it is possible.
The Norfolk Eagle Cam appears to be doing well, and the last time I looked in they had three eggs, so I think they’re in good shape at this point. It certainly helps that of the three Mid-Atlantic Eagle Cams, they are the farthest south.
Several cam watchers have asked why some Mid-Atlantic eagles nest this early in the season, since it seems to carry such a risk with the weather. First, we don’t normally have this much snow — it is a record year. And second, experienced parents nest early because it means their eaglets will have more time to learn how to hunt and provide for themselves before the next winter. So there is some wisdom to the process, but it does carry the risk of unusually bad weather claiming the eggs.
Thanks again to all those who are watching and cheering on our family. We remain hopeful that we’ll have two eaglets hatching around the end of February.
Bird Walk Note: For those who were planning on attending our free bird walk on February 13, please note it has been cancelled due to the weather.
Until next time,
Lisa – webmaster
Contact
Tags:
eagles, wildlife refuge, eagle cam, Blackwater Refuge, Maryland
Entries (RSS)){kind=link}