Finally, after the cold moved on and the sprinkles stopped sprinkling, it was time to eat. This is my first glimpse of Hatchling #2. Aren't they adorable??
Waiting for eggbert.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)Love breakfast.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)time to eat.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

.... and this week's update is especially well written. I like watching this nest because there is no human intervention!! Only birds, Nature, and all that comes with it!!

Happy Friday, Eagle Fans!
What an exciting week it has been in the eagle's nest! Monday, the first egg hatched. Wednesday, the second egg hatched. Today, there is a good-sized pip in the final egg that will likely hatch by tomorrow morning. Three eggs and three hatches is pretty impressive, especially after witnessing all three of them fail last year. So, the parents are busy, busy, busy.
Over the next few weeks/months, the male eagle will continue to hunt for food to bring back to the nest. While both parents take part in feeding, the female does the majority of picking little pieces off of the carcasses in the nest to give to her young ones. As the chicks and their mouths get larger, the morsels of food get larger. It is quite amazing how quickly the chicks gain enough strength to hold their heads up to accept food. Eagles have a special digestive system that allows them to eat food that might seem rotten to humans, so the nest filling up with carcasses is normal. It is also a method of insurance. If something happened to one of the parents, there would be a lot of food left in the nest for the little ones to hopefully live on for a while until the other parent brings more food.
There are several threats to eagles and their young. In fact, even though most eagles lay 2 or 3 eggs, it is rare for three chicks to survive until fledging. Last week, someone brought in a dead bald eagle to us. It had run into a power line and died. The week before that, it was a dead eagle that had been hit by a semi. These could have been breeding birds. So too, there are threats to the young ones. Predators like racoons or great-horned owls could get into the nest and kill the young. Also, as the young ones get larger, the demand for food increases exponentially. As they grow, they become ravenous and compete for food. One of the chicks might be smaller and too weak to compete for itself. This competition and natural violence WILL happen here. We want everyone to be prepared for violence, blood or even death in the nest. This is the natural world and we are just peeking in on it. We will not intervene in this natural process. If one of the chicks looks like it is in trouble or dies, we will not rescue it. It is all part of the natural process of life and everything that happens is a learning moment for us as well as for the eagle parents and their chicks. Additionally, it would be illegal for anyone else to approach the nest and attempt to rescue potentially sick or injured eaglets. That will not be allowed, either.
The nest is very high in the tree and a bucket truck was needed to install the camera. This work was done early in the winter, before the birds were displaying courtship behavior or even frequenting the nest. The eagles are not fed by humans, nor does anyone physically visit this nest. They are completely on their own, in their natural environment with no assistance from humans. This is the way nature intended and this is also why we keep the location of this nest discreet. Any disturbance could threaten the nest, or habituate the birds which could turn out to be deadly for the new family. We do not want that to happen! We are very grateful to be able to witness this fascinating and amazing process. Our generation is very fortunate to have this opportunity. We hope that you are also enjoying every minute of spying on the natural world and learning from these beautiful and majestic birds.

Have a great weekend!

It was so much fun to watch these two eat today. When Mom got up one of the little ones was on its back. Eating didn't seem to work well that way so it rolled over and started reaching for the food that was offered.
3-29 babies.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Feet up.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

I didn't get an update via e-mail this week, but I have been watching these 3 little squirts. I haven't seen any beak bonking between squirt #1 and #2 for a few days now and the littlest squirt #3 seems to be getting fed on a daily basis. There always seems to be a lot of fish in and around the nest. A couple of days ago I noticed the fish was on a bed of crushed ice (snow). The parents are great providers. I've seen them tag team the feeding frenzy.

Family time at DNR.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Mom and the squirts.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Little squirt.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

This little family of Eagle's are getting along great. The parents are bringing lots of food and extra fluff for the nest. The eaglets seem to be getting along real well and taking turns eating. The littlest squirt is getting a little bigger every day.

They are surviving the odds. With the brutal winter and past history this family of eagles are making it!!

3 well fed eaglets.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Surviving the odds.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

The update on the MinnDNR Eagle family is very interesting and well written. Although they survived the winter, they're not out of the woods yet!! (Was that a pun??)


Hello Eagle Fans!
We hope you have been enjoying watching our little eagles grow and get strong. The young family has done an excellent job of surviving the harsh Minnesota spring. The three chicks are now roughly a month old. Though they seem "little" the chicks are almost the size of a crow. In another month, they will be almost full-sized and getting ready to fledge (fly from the nest)! You can see the young already stretching and exercising their wings to get ready for the big flight. Weather challenges are likely not over with, however. In the coming months it is likely they (and we) will have to endure thunderstorms, wind, rain, hail, and lightening. All of these things can be hazardous to the eagles and quite possibly, the camera.
Many people have been worried about and have been sending concerns about the youngest eaglet. It is still obviously smaller than it's siblings, but it is growing at the same rate of speed as the other two. Both parents have been very attentive to all of the chicks, making sure each of them receives food at meal time. The smallest one is just that, the smallest of the three eaglets and one week behind the first chick in development. Sibling rivalry is common and innate in eagles. This behavior prepares them for future hunting, territorial disputes as well as predator attacks. Eagle chicks can be predated on by great-horned owls, raccoons, other raptors as well as other eagles. Rough-housing in the nest is natural and necessary for them to survive in the wild.
There certainly has been no lack of food in the nest. Some of the carcasses brought into the nest include: channel catfish, squirrels, pigeons, rabbits, a red-headed duck, and a muskrat! All of these food items support the diet of the eagles which are considered to be carnivorous raptors. Carnivores eat only meat and receive all of their nutrition from the meat of different species of prey. All of the moisture their bodies need comes from the meat the eagle eat, so they need very little water in their diets.
This week we were able to finally read all of the numbers on Mom's band on her leg! We tracked down the data and found out that she was banded by the Raptor Center of Minnesota in 2010. The band on the left leg is one indicator (most banders use the right leg). She had been brought into the center with a foot injury and intestinal parasites. The doctors at the Raptor Center determined that she was hatched in 2009. After her injuries healed, she was released in Hastings in November of 2010. If this is the same female that nested at our camera nest last year, it would have been her first brood. Eagles reach sexual maturity at the age of five. It takes this long for their plumage (feather colors) to reach the full white head and tail. Inexperience by young birds often does not end well and this might be part of the reason the nest failed last year. Whatever the reason, we were very excited to find out this information about the mother at our nest and that they are raising their first brood just fine!
Once again, the Nongame Wildlife program would like to thank all those who subscribe to this newsletter and especially to those who have donated to the Nongame Wildlife Fund. All donations are so appreciated and we obviously have very generous supporters. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Your Nongame Eagle Team

Wooly stage.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

These three aren't such little squirts anymore. With all the rain and snow this winter and spring, and all that time under the cover of their parents, it seemed these three have gotten pretty big. I'm anxious to see them all start to wingersize on that nest!! I hope the tree is strong!

Being squished.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Not so little.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte) Stopped raining2.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Re Stuck eaglet 5-2-14.PNG - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Awww! It seems to be the first one hatched. It's so hard to tell if it's stuck or injured.

Quote: Lano wrote in post #59

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If anyone else watching MNDNR full screen, do you see what looks like fishing line blowing near the top of the upright stick or cornstalk on left???? Or is that fine grass of some sort?

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