Hancock Wildlife Member's Diction-aerie

A place for general information, Q's and A's and news about eagles
Post Reply
User avatar
jkr
Admin
Posts: 186
Joined: Jan 01, 2018
Location: East Kootenay, BC, Canada

Hancock Wildlife Member's Diction-aerie

Post by jkr » Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:03 am

HANCOCK WILDLIFE MEMBER'S DICTION-AERIE
While watching eagle cameras over the years funny and unusual words have evolved when an actual word from a standard dictionary didn't quite fit the action we saw happening on a nest. These words began evolving in 2006, the year of the first eagle cameras. Today these words are used with frequency which may confuse our new members. To better understand what each and every word actually means the following post contains our H.W.F. DICTION - AERIE.

ATTIC - Large perch branches directly over the Nest Bowl

BALCONY - Usually a branch used by the adults to keep watch over the eaglets, and to keep watch over their territory.

BASEMENT - Any area in the bottom of the eagle nest where small birds like to build their own nests.

BEAK TO BEAK PLAY, ALSO KNOWN AS BEAKING - The eaglets often rub and/or gently tap beaks together. It is an eagle sign of affection. Also performed during mating rituals by adults.

BOBBLEHEAD - A newly hatched eaglet learning to keep it's head steady.

BRANCHING - When the eaglet leaves the nest bowl to perch on a branch near the rim or in the nest tree.

BREKKIE - The first Food Drop of the day for the eaglets.

CHARLOTTE - Our affectionate name given to the always present spiders who crawl across the cam lenses...OR...we refer to Charlotte having been there if we have a lens full of spider webs

CHITTERING - The sound a very young eaglet makes when it wants to be fed, a very fast "chit" sound and a peep, repeated over and over

CHURBLING - The content sound eaglets make after a good feeding.

EE-CHUP - The sound eaglets make while being fed.

FACEPLANT - Eaglet in the Flatlet position with face on the nest.

FLATLET - A Eagle laying still in the nest,often sleeping

FLAP-DANCING - Eaglet wing exercises performed while stepping, hopping or jumping about on the nest.

FLAPPERCIZE - Eaglet wing exercises performed while branching or on the nest.

FLAPNASTICS - Eaglet wing exercises performed while branching or on the nest.

FLEDGE - (to acquire the feathers necessary for flight), we use the term for a first flight away from the nest tree.

FLUDGE - When an eaglet accidentally "fledges" prematurely - usually by having a mishap of some kind while branching and/or fly-hopping/wingersizing that causes it to fall from the nest. e.g. slips or loses their grip while on a branch; sibling accidentally knocks him or her off the nest/branch;

FUNKY CHICKEN - the neck movements that eagles make when they move food from their crop to their stomach

FUZZBALL - A wee eaglet wearing it's whitish grey downy coat.

HOKEY POKEY - When an eagle perches on a branch with one talon resting and draped over the branch,

JUVENILE/JUVIE - At approx. 5 - 6 weeks their coat of gray down is replaced with dark brown/black "juvenile" feathers.

LANDING STRIP - The section of nest that Mom and Dad land on when coming

L&L - The act of "L"ying and "L"ooking around for a length of time - An activity adult eagles often engage in for a seemingly endless amount of time

LUMPLET - Similar to a snoozelet except the eaglet(s) are bunched up like a big "lump" of feathers.

MANTLING - The spreading of the wings over food to make the eaglets appear larger.

MERRY MAIDS - Starlings or other smaller birds rooting around in the nest, usually when eagles are not nearby to chase them out of the nest. At the end of each season we often call them the CLEAN-UP CREW.

MUMBRELLA or MOMBRELLA - Mom eagle sheltering eaglet(s) under her wings during rain and/or wind.

MOM'S PERCH - A favorite perch used by Mom.

NEST BOWL - The depression in the center of the nest.

NESTOVERS - Leftover bits of food that the eaglets find in the nest after the main item was eaten. Eaglets are messy eaters who leave bits of food all over the nest. When hunger strikes and there isn't fresh food, they peck and search the nest for the remains.

NESTORATIONS - Renovations done to the nest by either parent. Either in preparation for egg laying or while the chicks are on the nest.

PEEPFEST - What an eaglet does when it realizes food might be on the way.

PELLET - The parts of what they eat that are indigestible are expelled as a "pellet". Strange movements of the neck and head are evident of a pellet about to be expelled.

POOH ART TREE/AREA - Any part of the nest tree that becomes decorated time after time from all the poop-shots

POOP SHOT - What eaglets do after they've digested their food. An eaglet will backup to the edge of the nest, dip its head, raise it's tail and fire a load out of the nest.

PRE FIRST FLIGHT PREP - First flight check sequence: Head bobbing, and looking around followed by a quick Poop-Shoot with more head bobbing and looking around followed very quickly by the eaglet leaning forward by rotating at the hips, jumping and taking wing for the 1st time.

SELF-FEEDING - Term used to describe an eaglet when they first begin feed themselves, unassisted by an adult.

SCREEP - Cross between a screech and a loud peep.

SHUGGLE or SHRUGGLE - When an eagle shakes out it's feathers and wiggles it's tail

S&L - The act of "S"tanding and "L"ooking around in one position for a length of time - An activity adult eagles and older eaglets often engage in for a seemingly endless amount of time

SNOOZELET- A sleeping eaglet

STAR - LING - A pet name given to the starlings that inhabit the eagle nest and entertain us with their singing.

TRIBBLING -The sound that a contented happy eaglet makes, usually after a good feeding. It is a fast and short, high-pitched, repetitive call that is similar to "churbling." (A "Tribble" is an animal from Star Trek that communicates by making this sound)

TRILLING - A fluttering or tremulous sound made by the adults ; a rapid alternation of two tones.

WHISTLE-SCREEP - A noise they make when they urgently want to be fed, a combination of a whistle sound followed by a screep sound

WINGERSIZE - Eaglet wing exercises performed while branching or on the nest.

Post Reply

Return to “Eagles - General Information, Q & A's and in the News”