Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Camera discussion for the Delta2 nest in Delta, British Columbia

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Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:03 pm

DELTA 2 2018 - 2019 OBSERVATION AND DISCUSSION

Recent history:



In the late summer/early fall of 2015 a new nest was started for the Delta2 eagle pair. A summer storm overnight on August 28th/29th had completely snapped the tree they were already in - dumping the huge nest on the ground!

1.JPG

After extra donations and some hard work - just in time - a starter nest was built in the tree we had been calling the Barn Tree.

Last season 2017 - 2018 was an unusual one here. Pa went missing on June 1, 2018 and was not seen after that. There were 2 eaglets on the nest at that time, Dusk and Dawn. There were several intruders in the area who tried to take over the nest but Ma guarded her eaglets keeping possession of her nest and raising her chicks to fledging. In the end there was one male, called AME (Adult male eagle) who was later named "Trooper" by our posters, who came to Ma's aid. Ma was friendly with him and after Ma left on her migration he stayed on to tend to the nest.

As we begin a new season here we are waiting to see who shows up to claim this nest. Ma did come back early from her migration (September 28th) but recently left the scene again (October 1st) and we are wondering when she will come back to stay. Will Trooper come back here too or someone new?

Link to last year's Discussion Thread......2017 to 2018

HERE


Link to Nest Summary for 2017 to 2018

HERE


New Delta2 Live Cams Page:

HERE



These cams are located in Delta, BC, Canada which is in the Pacific Time Zone.
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:23 pm

Timeline 2018 - 2019

Eagles return: Ma was here from September 28th to October 1st. We did not see her again until around October 10th. Her identity was confirmed on October 15th along with that of Trooper who was now here with her.

Actually in the nest -Ma in the nest itself on October 11th. Trooper in the nest on October 12th. Both in nest on October 13th. This was before official ID was made.

Eggs Laid:
First egg: March 8th, 2019 @ 3:18pm
Second egg: March 11th, 2019 @ 3:52pm


Chicks hatched:
First chick............9:09am...........April 16, 2019
Second chick............4:50am.........April 17, 2019.........about 20 hours after the first chick hatched.


First Branching: .........both chicks branched on the same day............June 26, 2019.


Fledge Dates:
Coola fledged on July 7, 2019 at 10:19am..............81 days old.
Coola made it back to the nest on July 8th around 7:00am.

Bella fledged on July 9, 2019 at 5:28am............84 days old.


Adults last seen:

Ma was last seen on evening of July 28, 2019.
Trooper was last seen on the evening of July 31, 2019
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:27 pm

Nest Adoptions for 2018 - 2019

~ Irish Eyes
~ Bonnie (txsun)
~ Sandy_W
~ Katheryn Leszczynski and Ray Townsend
~ Jean
~ Yolande Proctor
~ Pat B
~ Gail and Ivan Morris
~ JudyB
~ Alice and Richard Currie (Lantz_56)
~ Seear Grandchildren: Gia, Ava, Ula, Janiece, Roman, Bo, Kaiden, Quincy and Caleb
~ Bonnie Duke (aka bonbon)
~ Irish Eyes
~ luvtheanimals


Previous Adopters Wall of Honor

HERE


You too can honor your favorite fine feathered family
and support the work of Hancock Wildlife by adopting
the HWF nest of your choice.

Click HERE to see how!



Link for Donations

HERE
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Jean
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:41 pm

Parts of an eagle's foot:

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Eye dots are one permanent marker to ID an eagle. They do not change.

Ma's eye dots:


1.JPG


Trooper has NO eye dots that have yet been seen on cam. He has nice solid, clear looking eyes.
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:51 pm

MA

Ma has a smooth back collar but at times one can see a large notch in her front collar. She has intense eyes and a fluffier brow. There are ridges on the upper part of her beak (See pictures below regarding those ridges).

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11.JPG
12.JPG
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:57 pm

TROOPER

Trooper has a sleeker looking head than Ma. Sometimes it looks like he has dark patches under his eyes. Trooper has a long white feather which can be seen sometimes on his front collar and also a white feather at the back of his collar on his right shoulder side. His back collar also seems to be in an inverted V shape and appears to zigzag rather than being in a smooth line.

7.JPG
6.JPG
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2.JPG
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:57 pm

MA AND TROOPER...........COMPARED

1.JPG

Ma's front collar notch...........and Trooper's inverted V back neckline collar.

3.JPG

Trooper's tail seems to be whiter/cleaner............Ma's looks darker/dirtier.

4.JPG
Collars change over time and with the wind and conditions of the moment. But their collars are distinct, and look different from each other on many occasions.

Ma has eye dots...........Trooper does not.

Ma's tail often seems to have a dirtier/darker look to it than Trooper's.

Ma may occasionally limp, especially during nesting season. But her previous injury has healed well and most of the time we don't see the limp at all.

Generally speaking the male is smaller than the female. The female usually has broader shoulders (like a linebacker). David says this is so the female can properly support the male on her for a successful mating.
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 3:57 pm

NEIGHBOURING EAGLE NESTS

There are 3 other nests (neighbours) that can be seen with our cams. What we see in any of those nests (whether they are located on a tower or in a tree) often depends upon the weather conditions at the time because they are so far away. Bright sunlight is favorable for viewing them and with our area experiencing lots of cloud, rain and fog at times............it is often difficult or impossible to see them. And as they are in the distance any view we get it small.

To make it easier to identify these 3 locations it has been decided to give each of these nests a name. This makes for easier posting and better recognition of which nest is being commented on.

1. The Tower nest............home of the tower eagles. This is the closest neighbor to Ma and Trooper. The tower they nest on is located to the right of Ma and Trooper's nest. It is very easy to see from both our WEST and EAST cams.

1.JPG

2. The Field nest............home of the field eagles. If one looks to the left of the distant evergreen, into the distance they can see a tall tower there. In the past we've seen adults perched there and it is believed they nest in that tower although we rarely get a glimpse of them there. Most of the time we can only see this from the EAST cam.


99.JPG


3. The Bay nest...........home of the bay eagles. This is the most recent nest found.........located in a tree towards Boundary Bay. Two adults were seen perched in this tree together. This nest can only be seen using the WEST cam.

3.JPG
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:02 pm

RESERVED
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 09, 2018 4:21 pm

Bringing this information forward from the old thread(summary from the last couple of weeks)..............

Ma showed up in the nest tree, home early from her migration on Sept. 28th, 2018
Ma was seen on the poles for the next couple of days..........she was alone.
Ma was last seen on Oct. 1, 2018 on the towers/poles.

Bad weather ensued right afterwards and many birds seemed to go into hiding. Ma has not been seen since that time.


Regarding Ma's whereabouts at this time..................

Ma has a pattern of returning here from early to mid October. The year that she suffered her greatest trauma, she broke her leg.............resulting in her taking extra time before she returned to the nest again. She did not come back from her migration after that until almost the end of the October. Ma's pattern of behavior changed as her circumstances changed.

Ma again suffered trauma of sorts this year. She lost her mate ...........at least he disappeared and did not return. This will likely have affected her. It was highly unusual to see her here before the end of September as was the case this year. But as humans we can only speculate on all the different possibilities and reasons for this. Maybe she was anxious about the nest and making sure she got back here to secure it.............Maybe she wanted to see if Pa did come back..............Maybe she is just "out of sorts" because of the events of last season. And If upon returning early, she realized everything was fine..........the nest was still there and no one seemed to be claiming it.............maybe then she decided to continue her "rest time". But if her pattern of behavior has changed we should not be surprised.

As of October 9th we don't know where Ma is. But she could be down by the bay these days but keeping an eye on the nest from afar. Eagles have super eyesight remember? Or she could be off somewhere where the food is easy to get and there are no worries for her.............she could be one of the eagles at HM right now or off up the coast line. Maybe she is trying to find a good mate to bring back to this nest. We don't know. But it is too soon to be worrying about her. Ma will hopefully return when SHE is ready...............not when WE are ready.

UPDATE :woohoo: :hooray:

Ma has returned with Trooper at her side! Adult eagles were spotted in the area around October 10th and on October15th they were both confirmed as being here. So now the story unfolds as we watch Ma and her new mate begin their lives together at the Delta2 nest.
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by nightowl » Tue Oct 09, 2018 11:56 pm

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2018

:bye 1:
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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by SueB » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:15 am

7:15 am - Good Morning Delta 2 Viewers! I am logging into the cams.

Some low lying fog
2018-10-10 10_21_30-Greenshot.jpg
2018-10-10 10_21_54-Greenshot.jpg

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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by SueB » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:31 am

7:22 am - not a bit of wind out there this morning.
2018-10-10 10_23_33-Greenshot.jpg
We have someone on the center pole. I guess this is a hawk, but it has quite a bit of white on it's neckline, rather than just lighter brown.
2018-10-10 10_26_54-Greenshot.jpg
No one at the neighbor's tower yet
2018-10-10 10_27_17-Greenshot.jpg

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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by SueB » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:41 am

7:29 am - we have a little bird on one of the evergreens. I think this may be the flicker that has been hanging around.
2018-10-10 10_29_27-Greenshot.jpg
7:33 am - quite a few large birds down in the water
2018-10-10 10_33_55-Greenshot.jpg
One flying by
2018-10-10 10_36_56-Greenshot_LI_Moment.jpg
Last edited by SueB on Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Delta2 2018 -2019 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by SueB » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:43 am

7:34 am - the hawk flew off the center pole.
2018-10-10 10_35_14-Greenshot.jpg

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