Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

[JudyB]

From the dvr....

4:48 am
Sur(?) in with a small something - in and out so fast that I couldn't tell if there was an issue with his foot.

He may have his weight on his "heel" rather than toes as adults usually stand - but I can't tell for sure.

It's my impression that it's Ess that has the item, and it looked like a small mammal - maybe a mouse or something? It's too early for me to get a picture confirming tail feathers - but I thought I saw light at the end of this eaglet's tail as she was moving, and am not seeing any on the other eaglet who is now perched on the edge on the South cam.

Early Delivery (25 seconds, both cams)

[JudyB]

Continuing from dvr....

5:48 am
Delivery by Res with a very dirty tail. She went up to the perch afterwards, and I'm noticing that the perch is now almost eye-level for the eaglets in the nest - definitely a possible goal as they hop-fly higher! I think the food item was a small bird - both eaglets grabbed, and I think Dee got most of it.

Well, that's a great action shot, but it's impossible to see quite what's going on....

The eaglet on the left has it, and I think I see white on the tail of the eaglet on the right.

Res on the perch - see how tall the eaglets are!

I'm not doing a video now - may come back later, but it's been a busy morning and I'm trying to get caught up.

Added:
Dee gets the prize! (1:32) Both cams

[JudyB]

Continuing from the dvr....

5:53 am
Another delivery - the other chick got this one, since Dee (I think) was still guarding the last one. Another small mammal.

This was Res at 5:48 - dirty tail but I can see her white stripe; bottom side of the tail was even dirtier - but I did not see any black on the upper tail.

This was her at 5:53 am - still dirty tail, still a white stripe.

I'm not going to do a video now, but she was walking very well on the nest from the North cam - may document that later.

Added:
Ess wins out this time

[JudyB]

continuing from the dvr....

6:37 am
Delivery by Sur - the bottom of his tail is also very dirty, but I saw the black on the upper tail. This may have been a flounder - and I think it's the piece of fish being worked on at 8:07; flounder may be harder to open than bullheads.

Sur still has some dirt on his head.

The bottom of both of their tails look sort of like this.

It looked to me as if he went to put weight on his right leg as he prepared to fly off on the South cam view, then decided to just use his wings.


Sur Brings Fish (31 seconds, both cams)

[JudyB]

Continuing from the dvr....

This is a very busy morning! Res arrived at 7:44 am with a large headless bird carcass - I'd wondered where that came from! She was moving around the nest on the South view - looked very strong - and bringing this wasn't easy - she was panting after the delivery.

Mom and eaglets - the one in the middle may be a bit closer to the cam, and the one of the right is mantling - but I still think they may be bigger than she is.

Large food item! I love the way Mom and the other eaglet are watching!

Added - another perspective on the large food item:

Res Brings Big Bird (90 sec, both cams)

See how well Mom's moving - she really looks completely recovered from her leg injury!


Time for a lunch break - I'll continue with the morning deliveries when I get back.

[BETHINB.C.]

Good morning everyone, I watched the video Judy and I am concerned now about Sur's right leg, seems he is having trouble putting weight on it now. That was a flounder and they are very toughed skinned. One reason I don't like catching them..too hard to work with. I'm lazy...lol. Am I right about Sur's leg Judy? The chicks are sure getting a good feed today. and a great assortment of food to boot.

Added: I wonder what happened to the birds head? I was shocked to see this..lol.

[JudyB]

That's actually an interesting question about the bird's head, Beth - I'm used to osprey bringing headless fish to the nest because the male often eats the head before delivering the food, so I sort of assumed without thinking that Res had done - which does not make any sense at all. I'm guessing she found it on the beach, and I have not a clue how it got there.

Continuing checking back on the dvr to the big visit by Dad Sur....

He arrived at 8:03 am, and brought something that was quickly grabbed by one of the chicks - not sure what, but it could have been another flounder because I think the earlier one was gone by then, and there was one on the nest a little later. I think Ess grabbed the item.

Sur poked around on the nest looking for food. After a minute or so, Ess decided the flounder was too much work (think she agrees with you, Beth!) and left it to move back to the gull. You can see the flounder here - the dark shape partly under the gull.

Sur continued picking up scraps and moving closer to Ess - and Ess decided Sur was too close and rose up to defend her food.

I was not thinking fast enough to log in and zoom in on Sur's foot - but his right foot does look swollen to me.


to be continued....

[JudyB]

continuing....

They both backed down after a second. Dee was moving around in the background calling (and Ess was probably also calling - it was very loud on the nest until Sur left) - and I definitely got the impression that both eaglets are clearly bigger than Sur.

Sur grabbed the flounder and tried to eat it - and it took him a while to get it anchored with his good foot. As he tore off the first bite, Dee appeared at his side, hoping to be fed - and Sur obliged.

Sur's entire visit is recorded - in three parts - to help us determine the extent of his injury to his right leg.

Sur's Long visit - Part 1 (4:06)

I think Sur got some bites - but Dee probably got more. Ess continued to work on her bird. While all this was going on, Ess was dragging the bird around the nest, and I think maybe she wanted Sur to stop feeding Dee and come feed her. Then at 8:11, Dee decided she could feed herself faster, and grabbed the flounder away from Sur. Sur moved over to the gull, and started eating the legs, and then Dee grabbed the gull's wing and pulled it away from both of them. Sur grabbed it back. Now both chicks were annoyed - and loud. Dee moved over and started eating the gull - Sur went back to the flounder and tried to swallow it, but it was a bit too big for that. He managed to get a grip and got some bites before Ess came over, and then like the good dad he is, he began feeding Ess, though he continued to take bites for himself. Finally Ess grabbed it and tried to swallow it. Sur flew off at 8:16 - and it was suddenly quiet on the nest.

Lots of possible pictures - this is Dee trying to take the gull from Ess (she succeeded).

Sur's Long visit - Part 2 (4:08)


Sur's Long visit - Part 3 (5:06)

The visit was 13-1/2 minutes - and gemini or I will add a video of at least part of it, but right now I need a break so I'm stepping away from my computer for a while.


It's now 11:14 am and I didn't see any visits while I was going through the events from Sur's long visit, though I might have missed something. Back in a while.

[BETHINB.C.]

Hi again Judy, I'm wondering if the parents hurt their legs as they are grabbing fish out of the water ( river ) with the current and all? I'm just wondering here because both parents came in lame after delivering a fish to the young. A bad strain??

Now as for the headless bird..lol..reminds me of a horror movie...YIKES!...lol.

[JudyB]

Thank you for adding videos, gemini - there's been a lot happening today and it's nice to have a record!

Beth, I don't think the eagles would be likely to hurt their legs catching fish - that can definitely happen to fledglings because they haven't learned to judge distances and things as well, but adults who have been doing this for more than five years have probably gotten pretty good at it - though I think they fish mostly in Semiahmoo and Boundary Bays, which are tidal - but they're also familiar the fact that the depth of the water changes.

David Hancock is aware of what we're seeing with Sur today - and that Res is now much better, 2-1/2 weeks after her initial injury - and perhaps he'll have some comments on that. He's seen a lot more eagle behavior than the rest of us, having been involved with raptors for more than 60 years.

2:11 pm
One of the eaglets is working on leftovers, and the other appears to be demonstrating a yoga pose.

Added - 3:20 pm
I've been watching most of the time since my last post, and haven't seen any visits or signs that an adult stopped by.

[BETHINB.C.]

I noticed the bird has webbed feet so its some kind of water bird. Sur seems to have the same injury as Res did 2 1/2 weeks ago. The bird looks like it is old as rigour had already set in. Thank you for the videos. Will add if I have more one it.

Added: The flounder is history and they all ate some, the bird, well I have no idea what they're going to do with it. Ghey are having a difficult time with it I think.

Added again: Sur is definitely having trouble on his right leg.

[gemini]

4:31 pm Checked the DVR back to JudyB's last post and not much activity. One eaglet (Dee I think) has been lying down and squealing and the other one has been alternating standing in one place and squealing with hopping from one spot to another.

Dee trying to climb the tree

If I didn't know better, you would think these two were starving the way they are squealing all the time!

[gemini]

Thought I would get a view of Sur's injured leg from a different angle while we still can. It is really obvious from the South cam when he first arrived this morning.


Sur's leg injury viewed from the South cam

[JudyB]

Thanks, gemini!

5;56 pm
I’ve been watching and haven’t seen any visits- and I agree that Dee and Ess have had lots of food - but you know eaglets - never enough!

Good night everyone....

[Marg]

Looks like they are settled down for the night.

[BETHINB.C.]

Good night everyone, I am on my way to bed. Thank you gemini for the videos I sure do enjoy watching them. some nice long visits by Sur this day.

See you all tomorrow.
nite

[nightowl]

MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2019

[gemini]

12:45 am Checked the SVR back to 6:00 pm and didn't see any further visits fom a parent.

12:33 am Kids are sleeping with heads tucked in.

[JudyB]

Good morning, everyone! Thanks for checking back, gemini, and thanks for starting our day, nightowl, and thanks, Marg and Beth, for the evening posts.

Younger eaglet Ess is 10 weeks old today!

There was a visit by Res at 4:54 am which I will catch up with later, and there was just a long visit by Res where she fed the eaglets from something large and bloody - perhaps a seal placenta if this is the time seals are being born. Mom's tail is currently very red.

Here are a couple of pictures from that feeding.

One thing I found interesting is that the eaglets saw an adult long before she came to the nest and were looking and calling. I went on the cams and looked around for a white head in the direction where they were looking, but couldn't see anything - but sure enough, eventually Res came flying up from that area. Eagles do have very good eyesight!

Here's a picture of them calling and the area where they were looking - and I might have found something if I'd zoomed through the leaves - but it's hard to find gaps where I can get the cam to focus.

I'm going to check back on the dvr and report the earlier visit before getting back to this one.

[JudyB]

I went back to around 6 pm and didn't see any visits until 4:54 this morning, when Res came in with some sort of strange looking mess. I've seen something similar delivered before and don't know if it's a dead fish that's washed ashore or what. Having the cam in black and white doesn't help the ID.

I think it's Ess that got this - and after a while Dee grabbed a piece and began pulling, getting a bit of the meat.

Dee got a bigger chunk later - the food item is red and stretchy, or at least the part they were working on after the cam went to color is.

Mystery Meat (42 seconds)

[JudyB]

The next visit is the longer one by Mom Res at 6:04 am that I mentioned earlier; the video will show her flying across the screen before coming to the nest. I will note that it's a messy meal and the eaglets are not dainty eaters. The video is 7 minutes, and not much happens except the eaglets eating and being fed; Ess is on the right and we can see her doing a lot of self-feeding; Dee's back is to the cam part of the time so it's harder to see what she's getting towards the end of the feeding, but she was fed a lot at the beginning and appeared to continue to take bites from Mom.

This sort of shows the first place I'm able to see Res - it's about 3 seconds into the video and the time stamp is 6:04:22:

This is later in the feeding when Ess is self-feeding and I think Dee is being fed.

I like this image from near the end of the feeding - you can see Res's tuft of feathers clearly - and you can see two eaglets who just had a big meal asking for more! Res flew up to the little perch shortly after this to clean her beak, then flew off.

Messy Meal for Eaglets (7 minutes)

[JudyB]

It's now 7:15 am and I have some other things to do, but I will check back later.

I did notice Dee (I think) showing her profile - now that the eaglets are fully feathered (though their feathers are still growing), we don't see their crops as much - but I think they both look like this after that meal:

[Marg]

Good morning everyone. Just checked the nest and both Dee and Ess are lying down but awake.

[IrishEyes]

Good Morning everyone .. the forum was down earlier when I tried to post the weather here !

I will post it now


Weather Report

[BETHINB.C.]

Good morning everyone, I was watching as Res flew bye with her delivery, isn't it absolutely breathtaking how she soars through the sky and the tree's and just drops in? I am pretty sure her delivery was another placenta and a messy one at that, her poor tail is so red.

Thank you all so much for the video's I love watching them. Res's leg looks perfect now and I am so happy about that. Has anyone seen Sur since yesterday? I wonder if he is taking it easy and letting his foot heal?

Both chicks look so good now, outside of the head and tail not being white they sure do look like mom and dad.

Added: Thank you o much Irisheyes for the weather report.

[JudyB]

Good afternoon, everyone!

From 11 am - Dee shows off her big wings.

Ess does stand up and stretch partway through, to show that her wings are just as big - but this is Dee's show!

Dee Gets Some Air (1:40 min)


It's now 12:04 pm, and I looked back to my previous post and didn't see any visits - and you're right, Beth, we haven't seen Sur yet today. I'm thinking that when Res hurt her leg, she continued delivering food for a day or two - then took a couple of days off, before showing up on the nest. So perhaps Sur will follow a similar pattern.

[BETHINB.C.]

What an absolutely beautiful video of the pair and their huge wingspan.
Yes, I remember Res did deliver some food when her leg was sore but maybe she didn't know Sur would take over and when he did she found time to rest and heal her leg.. Just a thought, I am hoping that is what happening right now.

I can't believe how big those eaglets are now..WOW!!

[gemini]

2:40 pm Great catch, Judy! That's the longest sustained wingersizing effort I have ever seen from one of these two! I was beginning to wonder if they were ever planning to leave the nest. Most of the other nests I have watched, the chicks are trying out their wings long before it is time to fledge. In fact I have worried they might accidentally fall they would jump so high! We have had some late bloomers when it comes to branching but not usually in the wing flapping department! And I wonder if she jumped on the other eaglet deliberately or if it was accidental?

I checked back to 12:00 noon and no visits from a parent. Not much action other than lying down or grazing the nest for food.

[JudyB]

Thanks, Beth and gemini! I have seen them flap-hop over each other (when the other was lying down - they're not getting up to eagle height with their lifts yet - though I think they will be soon). And I think that even though I have the cams up a lot, I've been so focused on how the adults are doing, and if anyone has brought food, that I haven't really been reporting on the normal milestones - like leaping from one side of the nest to the other.

Today's display was really beautiful - and also the longest sequence of lifts and hops I've seen - and I'm so happy I thought to record it! And I'm pretty sure Dee knew exactly where Ess was....

[JudyB]

It's now 5:45 pm, and I looked back to 2:40 - and I haven't seen any adults.

The eaglets had a lot of food this morning, so they may not be happy but they will be OK - though they will be quite hungry in the morning if nothing comes in later tonight. And I suspect it's likely that Mom will not be looking for food while it's hot, and Dad may be resting and recovering, so if there is food, it's likely to be at dusk.

It's getting late here in Maine so I'll say goodnight now - and will be looking to see what happens in the morning.