Delta2 2023 - 2024 Observation and Discussion Thread

[RoseA]

The Delta 2 Discussion Forum
Welcome to the 2023 - 2024 Eagle Nesting Season



Temporary link for Delta 2 West on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Lr-7rJf3M
(if the link doesn't work, try searching YouTube for HWF-Delta2-W Live Stream)

The link for Delta 2 East updates automatically.

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

This forum is for Discussion, Observations, Photos & Videos related to events/occurrences at the Delta2 Eagle Nest located in Delta, British Columbia and it's territory. Please join us as we follow the progress of the Delta2 Eagles and share your Observations, Photos & Videos . Screen captures are limited to three (3) per post and and make sure you save your captures in the JPEG format.

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,



Link to last year's Discussion Thread.........2022 to 2023:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=639&p=607484#p607484

Work in Progress...
Work in Progress...
Work in Progress...

[RoseA]

WHERE THE NEST IS LOCATED - MA's TERRITORY

As the star shows, it's on 56th Street in Delta.
Note: this is private property (farm).


Ma's territory encompasses the area shown in the little map (below) created by Sandy (ex-zoomer at Delta2). It gives you a good idea where Ma's main perching poles and towers are. (Thanks Sandy)

Starting in 2015 Ma used "Ma's Previous Nest Tree" as a home base and raised numerous eaglets, along with first Pa, and later Trooper.
In 2022 the new nest pole was erected between the stick trees and the old nest tree (where it still is). Ma and her new mate (DM) did not accept the new nest, but instead built a nest from scratch at the Centre Tower (top of map). We hope they don't do the same this year.

[RoseA]

RESERVED

[RoseA]

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 and both hatched...Ace and Pippin. Sadly, Pippin became ill and passed away. Ace successfully fledged.

2017 — 2 eaglets hatched and 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 later became her new mate and was 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 soon after the fall. Searchers went out again the next day but no sign of Sunny was seen again. Shadow accidentally fledged @83 days of age...a successful fledge, he was around for a couple of weeks afterwards.

2021 — Ma laid 3 eggs, only 2 hatched again. Both eaglets, Hope and Chase fledged successfully.

2022 — Sadly, Trooper disappeared February 8, 2022. Ma laid no eggs this year. Her efforts were spent in guarding her territory and accepting a new mate which she seemed to have done by season's end. He was named DM (Delta Male) at least temporarily. Ma re-injured her left leg (noticed on June 13, 2022). She had a significant limp for the remainder of the season. The nest tree disintegrated during the year as weather and time took its toll. The WEST cam fell to the ground, the EAST cam became loose and gave a slanted view, going offline in August. Funds were raised through GoFundMe and a new nest pole was built for Ma to greet Ma upon her return from her migration in the Fall. 2 new cams were also installed.

2023 — Ma and DM rejected the new nest pole built for them near the Old Nest Tree. Instead they built a new one from scratch at the Centre Tower. We believe Ma laid an egg(s) in their new nest sometime around March 13th. The exact hatch date is not known but a ground visit to the nest on June 27 verified that there was at least one healthy eaglet on Ma's/DM's nest. An additional ground visit on Aug 4 revealed the eaglet sitting on top of Centre Tower (with the nest being below). It was unclear if this was a branching or if they had already fledged. Regardless of which it was, they must have fledged soon after.

End of 2023: since Ma and DM's return to the territory after their summer migration we have seen very little of them up close and personal. In 2022 when they returned after the new nest pole installation, they at least (often) slept in the stick tree overnight. Now if they come into the stick tree the visits are short. It doesn't seem like they've slept there overnight even once. As well there have been no visits to the nest itself that we know of. They are around and we see them in the distance at a tower or pole, or rarely in the East Field. It appears that they are mostly staying on the side of their territory closer to Centre Tower more often, which is where their nest likely is again.

2024 —

[RoseA]

RESERVED

[RoseA]

Camera Maintenance - Part I
Sept 14/2023

9:15am the cherry picker arrived with a crew of three.

Gear is put on.

And then a bit of equipment testing.

[RoseA]

Camera Maintenance - Part II

Getting down to business.

Getting ready to attach new cable (I assume for East cam, as it's the cam that hasn't been working).

[RoseA]

Camera Maintenance - Part III

Checking if the East Camera is fixed...

It Is!!!!

Here it is looking at the West cam.

Welcome back East Cam!

[RoseA]

TIMELINE 2023 - 2024

Eagles return to territory:
Oct 14 - Both of our eagles (Ma & DM) were seen in the stick tree together.


Eagles return to nest:



Eggs Laid:


Pip observed:

Chicks hatched:




First Branching:

Fledge Dates:

Adults last seen:






Interesting/Unusual Events or visits:

[RoseA]

NEST ADOPTIONS

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


Nest Adoptions for 2023 to 2024 (September 2023 – August 2024)


~ Irish Eyes
~ Gilbert Family
~ In appreciation of the HWF volunteers
~ JudyB
~ Richard and Alice Currie


Link for Donations
https://hancockwildlife.org/donations/

[RoseA]

HOW TO IDENTIFY THE ADULTS...........Comparing Ma with New Male

Ma's voice is distinctive. Sort of a throaty/croaky call. Different than DM's. She has a smooth back collar and roundish head. A large notch has been noted on her front collar but it isn't always visible. Ma has eye dots in her R eye but they are rarely seen.

DM's most noticeable feature is eye dots in both eyes. Very dark spots, and large enough to see. He also has at this time some dark bits of feathers in his tail. That will likely change as he ages. His collar, front and back is a bit more jagged than Ma's.

[RoseA]

HOW TO IDENTIFY MA


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

Ma also has ridges on her beak.

[RoseA]

HOW TO IDENTIFY DM

DM has very distinctive eye dots in both eyes.

He also has an inverted V on his back collar...............some black dots on his tail..........and jagged white feathers on his front collar.

[RoseA]

NEIGHBOURING EAGLE NESTS.

There are many neighbouring eagle territories but we cannot see all of their nests with our cams. As well, we had new cams attached to a new nest at a new location (since Sept 2022) therefore our views are a little different from previous years. Currently, we can see the Tower eagles (1) and the Field eagles (2).

1. The Tower Nest is home of the tower eagles, Ma’s nearest and dearest neighbours for years now. We can see their nest with both our EAST and WEST cams. We can usually tell once they've laid eggs (based on behaviour) and once their eaglets become large enough we can start to make them out with our cams.

This (below) is a view of their nest from the East cam, which has a better view than the West cam of the tower. Here you can see an eagle perched on the spike of the tower (click to enlarge). Unfortunately, we cannot zoom in more than this.

Tower Eagle News 2024 Season:

We lost one of our tower adults in the summer of 2023 (not sure if it was the male or female) but it was mid-way through the eaglet(s) development on the nest.

Oct 4: Not surprisingly only one adult returned after their summer migration. This was the date they were first spotted on the tower spike. For awhile we only every saw one adult come to the nest, finally a 2nd appeared and there was hope we would now have a newly mated pair there. That proved to be true, when finally on Oct 25th we saw two adult eagles on the tower nest together ( and there has been two ever since).

Mar 4-6: We think the female may have laid an egg(s) in this time period. For the most part, every time we turned the cam in the direction of the tower we observed one of the pair lying on the nest as if incubating an egg.


2. The Field Nest is the home of the field eagles. If one looks to the left of the Evergreen pole (close to where the distant evergreen tree used to be), into the distance you can see a tall tower, with a pole close by. Adults have been observed perching on that tower or pole and it’s believed they nest in the tower. We can see this area with either the East or West cam now (in the past it was only viewable with the East cam). It's much harder to report any details from this nest as it is farther away than the tower eagles
[first screen capture of tower in east field territory courtesy of SueB] .

[RoseA]

A list of the year's videos all in one place, and in date order.

(This will be a work in progress)