Funny....she has that same look in her eye that Cornell's Big Red got with the starlings...and that didn't turn out too good for the starlings. Just sayin'....

Feeding the new hatchling. Not sure if Eha had more success feeding this baby than she did while trying to feed the egg. Little bobblehead just wouldn't stay up.

Hiker & I did a little research yesterday to get a feel for the size of the lesser spotted eagle. It is about 2 feet tall with a 5 foot wingspan, so it is a smallish eagle compared to our southern bald eagles, but still larger than a red-tailed hawk.

Bunnie's caution is proving all too warranted. The second chick is being tormented by the older sibling. The norm is for the younger one to perish within a few days of hatch. Tiny is now 6 days old. The linked article provides some insight into the behavior referred to as Cainism very prevalent in the LSE and other eagles to varying degrees. Contrary to logical assumption, the current view is that it has nothing to do with food supply in the nest during development.

http://www.raptor-research.de/pdfs/a_rp700p/a_rp705.pdf

What I found interesting is that in some observed European nests there have been 1/48 and 1/50 cases where there have been siblings survive to fledge. The issue seems to be about support for the fledglings pre-migration and during migration. Many of the nests we watch are blessed with a very abundant food supply. I have often wondered about the head bonking in the eagle community that is missing in the owls, falcons, kestrels and (not sure) the osprey. The goshawk we have been watching are also not aggressive toward siblings. To be a second hatch in a lesser spotted eagle nest is a very steep hill, if not a cliff, to climb.

No one should die alone, not even a little hatchling in a nest in a forest in Estonia. This little one's life may have been so very short, but it was not alone in leaving this world. So many humans were in its corner and mourn its passing. We guard against attributing human emotion to the others who occupy this world. However, it is difficult to deny the tenderness and seeming sorrow of Eha.

I watched this nest earlier this morning and knew it was over. The big one was sprawled out asleep and mom was standing over the little one. She would occasionally reach down and nudge it, but it never moved. When the older one noticed this, it came back to the nest bowl, took another jab at the little one and then laid down on top of it. So very hard to watch. I really can't understand this behavior at all and I know it's not something the older one done because it's "mean." I know it's instinct but it's my "instinct" not to like that big one now. I can't help it. Last year in the other LSE nest that Lano and I watched, a Goshawk came swooping in and got that LSE chick. We were sad when it happened. I'm not sure I'd be sad this time. Poor little LSE baby didn't have a chance and was tormented from day 1. I'm glad it's over for it if it was going to happen anyway.