A Four Eagle Rainy Afternoon

A quick, rainy afternoon visit to check on the Eagles disclosed the 2 adults on the Osprey nest tower and 2 juveniles on separate trees along the river. The adults were not happy to see the youngsters in their territory.

 One of the adults chased a juvenile from the tree and although I didn't quite get the entire bird in some photos, it gives you some idea of how quickly things can unfold.

Due to the rain, all photos were taken from my car, some from a considerable distance.

The Honey Bee Pair: Togther Again

The morning started out with the juvenile Bald Eagle flyover.

I guess that brought out the adults to defend their territory. I was pretty sure it was the female that I saw perched on the Osprey nest tower, just due to the size. But when the second eagle landed beside it, the difference in size was apparent. That's the male landing and perched to the left in the first 2 photos of them together.

I then switched my location to try to view the female's leg/foot that was injured in the attack. So, in the last two photos, that's the female on the left. I could not get a good view of her foot, though. They did a lot of preening and warned off a couple of Ospreys that came into view.

It was good news seeing them sitting together and according to Reese Lukei, there is still time for a second mating and second clutch.

Nest Observations: March 15, 2018.

After about a 2 hour observation around the nest area, an Eagle, the male, I believe, flew in and settled in or near the nest, out of sight.
After 47 minutes, it left after vocalizing.

It did not return after 20 minutes, nor did another Eagle appear. I observed an adult pair, circling high overheard above Rosemont Forest Elementary School, as I headed home.

Banded Bald Eagle "RN" returns

Special banded Bald Eagle visitor "RN" was back for lunch at Honey Bee this afternoon. RN was banded at False Cape State Park at the nest in May, 2016 by the Center for Conservation Biology.

Honey Bee Nest Update

Mr. Reese F. Lukei, Jr. emailed me this afternoon that the new Honey Bee pair are no longer incubating eggs. He spent a couple of hours there this morning and during that time the female never came to the nest. The male was just guarding the nest.
There is still a possibility of re-mating and laying a second clutch of eggs. I personally remain hopeful. I was out there for several hours today and saw the pair perched together on a tower and some activity in the nest tree. I plan to continue to actively monitor this nest.

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT***

I received an email message from Reese F. Lukei, Jr. this morning. He is our local “eagle expert” and I have been reporting my observations to him for many years. Mr. Lukei is a volunteer research associate at the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary.
His assessment is that it appears that the eggs at the Honey Bee nest were crushed during the intruder attack that I witnessed on March 5th. Further, it is not too late for this pair to re-mate and lay a second clutch of eggs. Eagle watching at Honey Bee continues as we all watch Nature unfold.

Eagle Nest Attack: An Eagle is Injured. March 5

The attacking eagle came out of nowhere. I had been looking at the nest for about 45 minutes since the nesting female and come in and relieved the male. Another adult pair had flown over earlier but appeared to keep going.
The incubating eagle began screaming. I was looking through the camera view finder but events were unfolding too quickly for me to get a clear shot of anything. I did get a blurry shot of the intruder standing in the middle of the nest. Then in a matter of seconds it was over. The intruder flew out first. It was showing some blood on the tail.

The nesting female came out in pursuit. It took me a few seconds to focus but I manged a few shots as she flew over my head. Her talons were bloody and she appeared to have something in her right talon. She also appeared to be trailing the right leg.

I lost sight of the eagles briefly, but found them soaring, very high up. There were now three of them. The trailing right leg was now very noticeable.

An eagle flew back into the nest tree 14 minutes later. I could not tell if it was the male or female, or if it was injured. It settled on a branch and I left for the day.

A Special Visitor at Honey Bee

Say hello to a special visitor to Honey Bee today. This is banded Bald Eagle "RN." She (yes, she is a female) was banded at her nest as a baby eagle in May, 2016 at False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach, by the Center for Conservation Biology. She also had a transmitter attached at the time, but she lost it in November, 2017. She is just 2 years old.
This is my second encounter with RN. I saw her at Stumpy Lake on December 29, 2017.

March 4th Nest Attack

Another Bald Eagle pair attempted to attack the nest again today. An adult pair flew over and drew the incubating adult off the nest and also drew in the mate.

One flew in fairly close, and I saw 3 eagles in the vicinity. Here is a pic of the female (I think) returning after long two minutes off the nest.

She screamed incessantly at the intruder and conveyed to me that she was ready to give her life to protect her eggs.