Surrey Reserve 2020-2021 Observation and Discussion

[JudyB]

Merci for the closups of Tiku and Tucca! Such precious babies. Am I permitted to use a few photos for our announcements? They are only shared in our school

Absolutely! If you can add "Photos courtesy of Hancock Wildlife Foundation" that would be great.


Added - for those who are interested, images from the cams are generally licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License, which means they may be used for non-commercial purposes as long as HWF gets credit for them.

[JudyB]

7:40 am
Sur just arrived, I think with food (possibly a young crow or something taken from a crow, based on the calls I'm hearing in the background).

Younger eaglet Tucca is up and ready this time, while Tiku is near, but not very hungry.

[JudyB]

Tucca is standing up to eat - I love seeing them becoming more comfortable on their feet.

As they get more feathers, it gets harder to see how full their crops are, but I think both are looking good. Tiku is also taking some bites, but not as interested as Tucca (probably because Tiku had most of the previous meal).

[JudyB]

A couple of closeups from the feeding - older eaglet Tiku still has some growing to do before she or he is as bit as Sur - but s/he is getting closer every day!

[JudyB]

From a bit earlier in the feeding -

Tucca self-feeding. S/he hasn't quite got the concept of standing on the food while pulling off pieces, but s/he is standing!

Big crop!

8:18 am
Feeding is over.

[amandafrado]

What are the stories behind the names Tiku an Tucca, I'm not familiar with those names?

Bonjour JamJam!

I asked the student who suggested them and the names come from two characters in some stories he writes! He's in grade 5 and has a wonderful imagination. He thought they sounded like good names for the eaglets He is so happy! His class has had a very difficult few weeks and it was nice to see him smile (even virtually!).

[JudyB]

What are the stories behind the names Tiku and Tucca, I'm not familiar with those names?

Bonjour JamJam!

I asked the student who suggested them and the names come from two characters in some stories he writes! He's in grade 5 and has a wonderful imagination. He thought they sounded like good names for the eaglets He is so happy! His class has had a very difficult few weeks and it was nice to see him smile (even virtually!).

Merci beaucoup, amandafrado - that is so wonderful! And I totally agree that they are good names for the eaglets!

[JudyB]

11:47 am
Sur just arrived with food - he's definitely been busy this morning!

I think it's a bird - and SR6/Tucca was up first for some bites.

I think it's still alive - please use caution when watching the dvr. I know it's nature, and I give thanks for the food our eaglets need.

12:05 pm
Feeding is continuing. Tiku has come over and is getting some bites, but every time I looked, Tucca has been getting more.

Tucca does have some catching up to do and may still be in the rapid growth stage, while Tiku may be focusing on growing feathers and strengthening muscles.

[JudyB]

12:17 pm
Everyone is here - Res arrived with a stick as Sur was finishing the feeding!

12:25 pm
Sur left shortly afterwards, and now Res is feeding the chicks from the bird.

[JudyB]

Here are some closeups from this morning.
Tiku (SR5) is 44 days old and Tucca (SR6) is 43 days old.

Tucca's feathers are getting longer - but you can still see a lot of down.

The feathers are just beginning to show up among the down on the top of Tucca's wings.

Tucca's tail feathers.

[JudyB]

Continuing....

An even closer look at Tucca's tail feathers.

And here are Tiku's tail feathers.

I was hoping I'd get a good look at Tucca's beak here, but the North cam really does better when the eaglets are lying down. This is cute - and look at those feet! - but I know Tucca is a whole lot taller than she or he looks here.

[JudyB]

Continuing....

By the time I switched to the south cam, Tucca was lying down, so here are a couple of pictures of Tiku. His/her feathers still have a lot of growing to do, but in this position, they cover most of the down.

A bit of a discussion.

[amandafrado]

I can't even handle the cuteness!!!

[JudyB]

From 1:13 pm
Tiku with Dad Sur - Tiku is getting big!

I'm noticing the black on Sur's head - and wondering what he got into. I did zoom in on his feet with the other cam, and they're a bit messy, but I'm not seeing black on them.

Here are a few pictures of his head. (like many pictures here, these click bigger)

These pictures are also zoomed in enough to show the yellow skin under his right eye that I use to confirm his identity; there are some white feathers closer to the left eye - not as many or as white as Res has, but enough that I can't always confirm the ID from that side.

[JudyB]

The top of his head - hopefully it's something that will wash out the next time it rains - though it may help with ID until then.

Zoomed closer - also an ID picture for his eye; the dots in eagles' eyes are generally permanent and relatively unique, and at the very least can prove someone isn't Sur.

I tried to get a closer look, but he wasn't very cooperative, and I couldn't get the cam to focus. So instead - here are his feet.