Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Camera discussion for the Delta2 nest in Delta, British Columbia

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Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:25 pm

The Delta 2 Discussion Forum

Welcome to the 2020-2021 Eagle Nesting Season

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This forum is for Discussion, Observations, Photos & Videos related to events/occurrences of the Delta2 Eagle Nest located in Delta, British Columbia. Please join us as we follow the progress of the Delta2 Eagles and share your Observations, Photos & Videos . You can join the forum to make a post by clicking this link for instructions on how to register:

viewtopic.php?p=139#p139

There are lots of helpful hints about how the forum works here - HELPFUL HINTS and an Index to help you navigate the forum here - FORUM SITEMAP. If you have questions - please ask - and WELCOME!
Thanks again,



These cams are located in Delta, BC, Canada which is in the Pacific Time Zone.




The nest tree.............The barn in the first picture is no longer there. It was demolished on May 2, 2020.

July, 2019 (photos by Jean)
1.JPG
2.JPG

On August 22, 2020 the nest tree was determined to be in poor condition. It was "overhauled" by David and crew, pruned of long, brittle branches and timber supports were placed underneath the nest to give it solid support. So the nest tree now looks a bit different than in the upper photos. Photos below taken by Darlene on the day this was done.

5.JPG



History of the Nest.


There have been eagles in this territory in Delta, British Columbia, not far from the Tsawwassen Ferry, since at least the late 1990s. They initially took over and rebuilt a red tail hawk nest, then nested on high tension power poles for a few years, then moved back to the nest in 2010 and successfully raised two eaglets. A camera was installed for 2011.

There are other eagle pairs nesting nearby – and the cameras are powerful enough, and the “zoomers” who control them are skilled enough, that we can not only see the resident pair perched on towers guarding their territory – we can sometimes see the neighbours on a further pole, near where the territories meet.


2011.........2 eaglets raised.........Oreo and Jet. Oreo fell or was blown from the nest and was rescued and taken to O.W.L. as he couldn't be safely returned to the nest. Jet fledged.

2012..........2 eaglets raised..........Goldwing and Linux. Goldwing did not survive and Linux needed some rescue help from OWL but did fledge afterwards.

2013........2 eggs laid, but only one hatched.........Tux. Tux fledged successfully.

2014.......Feb, 8, 2014...........Ma severely injured her left leg, possibly broke it. Ma still laid 2 eggs that year and 2 eaglets did fledge.........Ariel and Hunter.

2015..........2 eggs laid..........none hatched as our adults were frequently off the nest.......something likely disturbed them that year..........A summer storm happened overnight on August 28th/29th, 2015 while our adults were away on their migration. It completely snapped the nest tree and the nest fell to the ground. A starter nest was built in the tree we had been calling the Barn Tree. This nest was accepted by Ma and Pa when they returned from their migration and life carried on using the newly constructed nest.

2016..........2 eggs laid.....both hatched.............Ace and Pippin. Sadly, Pippin did not make it and passed away. Ace successfully fledged.

2017..........2 eaglets raised........Spirit and Jewel. Both fledged successfully.

2018........Sad turn of events this year. Pa went missing on June 1, 2018 and was not seen after that. Ma struggled with other adult and sub adult eagles to maintain control of her nest which had 2 chicks on it at this time. When Pa disappeared they were just over 7 weeks old. They were Dusk and Dawn. Both eaglets did fledge successfully as Ma befriended a male during this time. This male became known as Trooper.

2019........Trooper returned in the Fall to become the new male on the nest, Ma's mate. They raised 2 eaglets, Bella and Coola. Both did well with a successful fledge for them both.

2020.........Ma laid 3 eggs this year. Only 2 hatched. Sunny, the eldest chick, slipped from a branch @81 days of age..........was seen that night by searchers but no sign of him after that. Shadow accidentally fledged @83 days of age.......a successful fledge, he was around for a couple of weeks afterwards.


Link to last year's Discussion Thread.........2019 to 2020:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=405

Link to Nest Summary for 2019 to 2020:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=405&start=27030

Link to cam cleaning.........Aug. 22, 2020:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=405&start=27120
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

(Member since 9/10/11)

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Jean
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:04 pm

Timeline 2020 - 2021

Eagles return:
Oct. 3, 2020.......Adult seen on poles and in stick tree.....thought to be be Trooper, not confirmed.
Oct. 10, 2020..........Trooper confirmed on the nest.
Oct. 12, 2020............2 adults on poles, towers and sleeping in stick tree. Trooper confirmed again and assumed it was Ma with him (confirmed the next day, Oct. 13th).


Eggs Laid:

First egg-- Feb. 27, 2021 @ 3:17pm
Second egg-- March 2nd, 2021 @ 3:05pm.
Third egg-- March 5, 2021 @ 6:03pm.



Pip observed:

First egg-- Pushed out bulge on the shell noticed early April 7, 20121. Actual hole seen late on April 7, 2021.
Second egg-- Pip seen late April 9th. Hatched the next morning.
Third egg--No pips or bulges seen at all.



Chicks hatched:

First hatch-- April 8th @ 5:30pm. (HOPE)
Second hatch-- April 10th @ 7:08am. (CHASE)
Third egg did not hatch. (It could have been the first egg laid, but cannot confirm) Egg last seen on May 25th. Either was buried in nest or broken at some point after this.

On May 10th the chicks were named Hope and Chase.


First Branching:

Chase.............June 14th at 8:43am. (9 weeks old)
Hope..............June 15th at 11:38am. (9 weeks old)


Fledge Dates:

Chase fledged June 28, 2021 @ 11:41am. Strong flight. Chase's last confirmed sighting was on July 16th in the late morning.
Hope fledged July 2, 2021 @ 6:00am. Hope's last confirmed sighting was on July 21st at about 10:41am.



Adults last seen:

Ma..........July 24th, 2021. She was with Trooper on the towers and poles in the morning. Guessing she left about 10:00am but ID cannot be confirmed.

Trooper............July 25, 2021. Trooper stayed a day after Ma. He brought some grass to the nest, flew to the evergreen tree...........maybe was in the stick tree but was not seen after about 7:20am.





Previous Adopters Wall of Honor
https://hancockwildlife.org/adopt-a-nest-wall-of-honor/



Nest Adoptions for 2020 to 2021 (September 2020 – August 2021)

~ Shirley/luvtheanimals ~
~ In loving Memory of Anna Bachmann ~
~ Sandy_W ~
~ Irish Eyes ~
~ Kitcat/Marianne ~
~ Y. A. Proctor ~
~ Jean ~
~ dragonfly/Liana ~
~ JudyB ~
~ Christine Carey aka CC398 ~
~ In memory of Harry Stothers ~
~ The very generous ongoing support from Jane McLennan on behalf of her grand-children Tamsyn, Lucille, Finola, Hanna and her great-grand-children Ivy, Winter and Winona ~
~ Alice and Richard Currie ~
~ In Memory of Godfeather - A friend to all ~
~ Bonnie (txsun) ~



Link for Donations
https://hancockwildlife.org/donations/
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

(Member since 9/10/11)

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Jean
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:05 pm

How to identify our adults..................Ma.


Eye dots are one permanent marker to ID an eagle. They do not change.
Ma's eye dots are very difficult to see.
1.JPG

2a.JPG

Ma has ridges on her beak, (Trooper has some too) but they are a bit more noticeable than the ridges on Trooper's beak.
2b.JPG
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Jean
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:06 pm

How to identify our adults.............Trooper.

Trooper has a long white collar feather that hangs down from his front collar which is noticeable particularly when standing in this position with his head turned to the left.
2.JPG

When bending down we often see a noticeable white back collar feather which is longer than the rest of the collar and in 2019 we noticed he had a "curly" feather on his back.
39.JPG


Trooper had an injury to the right side of his beak in 2018. It bruised and became a noticeable crease as seen in 2019.
88a.JPG
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

(Member since 9/10/11)

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Jean
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:06 pm

How to identify our adults.............Comparing Ma with Trooper.


Ma has a front collar notch.......Trooper has a back collar notch (not always visible).
4.JPG


Back collars........Trooper's edge is a rougher looking zig zag in shape.......Ma has a finer edge to her collar at the back.
5.JPG


Tails........Trooper's is slimmer usually (not in this pic).....more tapered with tattered ends. Ma's is wider and neater.
67.JPG
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Jean
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:08 pm

In General...............


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 (that we have yet seen).

Trooper's tail often seems to have a tattered look with fringes at the tips of his feathers there.

Trooper has that very distinctive "crease" on the right side of his beak. If his beak is dirty or the lighting is not good we don't see it easily.

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

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:37 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 and also depends on how many leaves are blocking our view once leaves from on the branches of all the trees. 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. There is one more nest called the Bluff nest which at times can be barely located with our cams.........it is not close enough to see any details of consequence.

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.

2.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
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:38 pm

This is a general map of the area around the Delta2 eagles nest which shows the layout of important points of interest.

It shows the poles, towers and other perching spots for our eagles. This is the view we see with our cams with the Delta2 nest in the center and gives the actual order of things as we follow around with the cams. It indicates how all these spots are positioned in relation to each other and to the nest itself.

Thanks to Sandy for all the work in creating this map.

Delta2 map locations.JPG
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:38 pm

RESERVED
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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Sun Aug 16, 2020 4:39 pm

WELCOME TO THE DELTA2 DISCUSSION THREAD FOR 2020 TO 2021!

Ma and Trooper are back and its time to begin a new year with our beloved pair! :woohoo: :hooray: :rh:
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:39 am

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020

:bye 1:
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:39 am

By Sue.........

6:41 am - Good Morning Delta 2! I am logging into the W Cam now just to be ready in case Ma and/or Trooper come to the nest early....seems a bit windy and maybe raining right now.

7:06 am - yesterday, Trooper had come to the nest by this time....different morning...different weather...still quite dark out and seems quite windy. I don't even hear the rooster yet....everyone is sleeping in.

7:10 am - and just like that, the rooster is now up and calling out. Oh My Gosh, also hearing eagle calls!!! Just love the sound!
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

(Member since 9/10/11)

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:40 am

By Sue..........

7:22 am - one of our eagles is on the nest tree...can't find them....assuming they are up on the front of the nest tree out of cam view
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:41 am

By JudyB............
SueB wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:41 am
6:41 am - Good Morning Delta 2! I am logging into the W Cam now just to be ready in case Ma and/or Trooper come to the nest early....seems a bit windy and maybe raining right now.

7:06 am - yesterday, Trooper had come to the nest by this time....different morning...different weather...still quite dark out and seems quite windy. I don't even hear the rooster yet....everyone is sleeping in.

7:10 am - and just like that, the rooster is now up and calling out. Oh My Gosh, also hearing eagle calls!!! Just love the sound!
Glad you heard the eagle calls, Sue - I was coming here to report them, and thought Delta was the only cam where I had sound up - but wasn't sure about that. And I just heard another call - around 7:21 am.
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

(Member since 9/10/11)

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Re: Delta2 2020 -2021 Observation and Discussion Thread

Post by Jean » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:41 am

By Sue.........
JudyB wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:23 am
SueB wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:41 am
6:41 am - Good Morning Delta 2! I am logging into the W Cam now just to be ready in case Ma and/or Trooper come to the nest early....seems a bit windy and maybe raining right now.

7:06 am - yesterday, Trooper had come to the nest by this time....different morning...different weather...still quite dark out and seems quite windy. I don't even hear the rooster yet....everyone is sleeping in.

7:10 am - and just like that, the rooster is now up and calling out. Oh My Gosh, also hearing eagle calls!!! Just love the sound!
Glad you heard the eagle calls, Sue - I was coming here to report them, and thought Delta was the only cam where I had sound up - but wasn't sure about that. And I just heard another call - around 7:21 am.
Good Morning Judy! Yes, that last eagle call was on the nest tre
"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time..............they have the heart"..........Elizabeth Andrew

(Member since 9/10/11)

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