Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018-24

This area is for recording observations and photos of eagle cams in North America

Moderator: N Amer Eagle Cam TA's

Post Reply
User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:08 pm

.March 11

Journal Entry #16 March 10th THE EAGLET....... Yes, the singular form of the word. I watched the male bring in a fish and later a small rodent to feed the young. During those feeding intervals only one bird showed itself. Were there two, the second would have certainly been seen as they fed. In this image, the young bird looks to be under the adult but is actually to the right in the nest. Last year's young were designated JBS 11 and JBS 12 so this year our young bird is JBS 13. Our eaglet is now 5 weeks old. It has most of its dark body feathering and the large flight feathers will be next.

Image by Tom Fleming
TX   a feeding   3-11-20.jpg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 11

A Red-tailed Hawk comes too close the tower where our eagle pair raise their young

Images by Tom Fleming

TX   red tail encounter   3-11-20.jpg
TX   close encounter   3-11-20.jpg
..
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:21 pm


March 11


Journal Entry #16 Continued.......... Our eagles continue to take exception to raptors coming into their no-fly zone. Today there was one Vulture eviction and one encounter with a Red-tailed Hawk. The Red-tail didn't show any inclination to deviate from its flight plan, so Mom undertook to correct its thinking. When she got within striking distance, she flared back and extended her formidable claws.
This image is of the moment of contact. The eagle's wings are extended back to reduce drag and engage with more force. The Red-tail has rolled over to extend its claws and defend itself. Neither bird gripped the other as the eagle slid past the Red-tail and they disengaged without either being harmed. There was no further pursuit and the Red-tailed Hawk moved off.

Image: Tom Fleming
TX   contact with redtail   3-11-20.jpg
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
JudyB
Admin
Posts: 17990
Joined: Dec 09, 2017
Location: Midcoast Maine

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by JudyB » Wed Mar 18, 2020 2:28 pm

Wow - great pictures of Mom fending off the red-tail hawk! Thanks for bringing Tom Fleming's pictures here, Mary. :thumlft: I'm glad the hawk knew how to protect his/her self - and didn't try to push the matter!

And I'm sorry there's only one chick this year - but happy there is one. :love:

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:02 am

John Bunker Sands Wetland Center
March 19


Journal Entry #17 March 19th KNEE BOOTS and an umbrella are the order of the day. 7 inches of rain in 7 days means a lot of slogging through the mud to the nest. So it was overcast and misty during the time of my shoot today. JBS 13 is nearly full grown in size now but short of adult weight. He's attempting to feed himself but needs more practice. The hard work is over for Mom and Dad. Now it's mostly some help feeding and standing guard. JBS 13 did not cooperate today by doing anything interesting that I could image . The main highlight was seeing Dad drop another stick on the way to the nest. Not sure what's up with that guy.

Image: Tom Fleming

One wet soggy eaglet!
TX   wet soggy baby   3-19-20.jpg
..
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:06 am

John Bunker Sands Wetland Center
ournal Entry #18: March 24th

Since the eagles don't live in Dallas County (and neither do I ), I arrived at the tower this afternoon to give everyone an update. This time of year, I make most of my observations from a property to the west of the tower. Our young eagle finally took time to stretch his wings today. I have found the lack of 'wingercise' puzzling until I remembered that JBS 10 in 2018 was also a single offspring and he didn't do much stretching either. He fledged in 90 days. It could be that the presence of a sibling prompts wing stretching as a sibling-to-sibling dominance behavior and so, is seen more frequently.

Image: Tom Fleming

Getting in a little wingersizing!
TX   eaglet wingersizing   3-24-20.jpg
..
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
JudyB
Admin
Posts: 17990
Joined: Dec 09, 2017
Location: Midcoast Maine

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by JudyB » Fri Mar 27, 2020 5:17 pm

Fund Drive for Hard Drives

Good afternoon, everyone! I have just learned that we do not have the hard drives we need to record our cams as we approach little chick time - and we do not have the funds necessary to buy them.

These are the high resolution drives that are connected directly to the cams at the site, making it possible to record high quality videos of events at the nests - and we usually have them up and running before the eggs are laid. As you know, we already have eggs at three of our four nests, and they are likely any day now at the fourth nest - so time is of the essence.

Our tech person Ken is estimating that it will cost about $7000 to buy the high quality, high capacity drives needed for our 9 cams, and while we are keeping up with our regular monthly expenses, we don't have the extra money needed to buy and install the hard drives.

I know this is a hard time financially for many of us, with many businesses closed - but it may also be a time when some of us are staying home and watching the eagles after cancelling planned trips or dinners out - and I'd like to ask those who can to contribute towards these hard drives.
Image


Details about How to Donate

If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]

Thank You!

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Sat Mar 28, 2020 10:29 am

JudyB---are we talking about $63,000??



John Bunker Sands Wetland Center
March 26
Journal Entry #18 Continued.


During my two hour visit Dad left the tower once to give chase to an intruder. I always think of the Turkey Vultures as 'innocent victims' of the eagle's protective instincts. They drift along on the wind and pose no threat but 'ignorance of the law' is no excuse as far as the eagle is concerned. Aerobatics ensue and the vulture is required to raise its energy level to escape the attack.

Now that the travel ban area has been enlarged, this will be the last report for a while. I hope that we will somehow be able to get an update!


Image: Tom Fleming

Dad and the turkey vulture
TX   Dad and Tvulture   3-20.jpg
..
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
JudyB
Admin
Posts: 17990
Joined: Dec 09, 2017
Location: Midcoast Maine

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by JudyB » Sat Mar 28, 2020 1:29 pm

MaryF wrote:
Sat Mar 28, 2020 10:29 am
JudyB---are we talking about $63,000??
:w00t: No :w00t: - and thanks for pointing out that I wasn't clear. The total needed is $7000 Cdn.

We'll be doing a follow-up post in a day or so on at least some of the threads, and I'll be more careful then.



WHEW!!

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Wed Apr 08, 2020 10:45 pm


.John Bunker Sands Wetland Center


Journal Entry #19: April 7th

The eaglet is now about 67 days old. The window for fledging is mainly between 80 and 90 days. During the first half hour of my visit, the young bird stayed below the profile of the nest. During the afternoon the eaglet only did one wing stretch and no vigorous wing beats that precede branching or fledging. Typically the eaglet's head is lowered during a wing stretch. So the image will show mainly the uplifted wings.

Image: Tom Fleming
TX   use those wings   4-8-20.jpg
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:36 am

> John Bunker Sands just had a virtual "Eagle Walk" this morning which I attended on my PC. They usually have a well attended one at the Wetlands every year but they are closed just like everything else is. It was quite interesting and when they get the video of it loaded I will try to post it here. :thumlft:

Eureka!! I found it!! :thumlft: :woohoo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh7kxvCIcVg
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:33 pm

.A visit with the John Bunker Sands Wetland eagles, featuring JBS 13, April 9, 2020. In this short video you can see the non working cams


https://www.facebook.com/16567024678318 ... 123523559/
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:39 pm

John Bunker Sands Wetland Center

Journal Entry #20: April 19th...... LAAAZZZEEE! I visited the nest site on the 16th. I was there for about 3 hrs. During that time, the JBS13 raised itself above above the rim of the nest to look around for about 10 minutes and resumed resting. No wing stretches, no wingercise; just a look around.
As mentioned previously, this is not really unusual for a nest with one baby. Two young eagles keep things stirred up as they run on different sleep/active schedules. This means more moving about and wingercise becomes a form of dominance display. Fledging should come near the end of the month.


Image: Tom Fleming
TX  JBS13   4-19-20.jpg
..
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:44 pm

..Journal Entry # 21 April 25th …JBS 13 has fledged! After 6 hours on watch over a two-day span, he showed himself. Observations from this week suggest that the most likely date for the event was Earth Day April 22nd. This is 82 days since the estimated time of hatching. I saw him on the wing on the morning of April 24th a few hundred feet from the tower. The image confirms the correct color for the beak and correct feather pattern for the underwing. JBS 13 was at a distance of a half mile as the image was taken.

Image: Tom Fleming
TX   fledged   4-20.jpg
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:49 pm

..Journal Entry #22 May 6th …......... I saw JBS 13 briefly today. It came in towards the tower that holds the nest, flew by and then caught a thermal taking the escalator up several thousand feet while drifting westwards. It looked to be in fine health. Interested fans of our eagles have expressed concern regarding the risk to the eagles and their nest in severe weather. The recent passage of two storm systems was sufficiently violent to bring down two large trees in the vicinity The nest along with the eagles have handled it well.

Image: Tom Fleming
TX   JBS13 flying   5-6-20.jpg
Member since July, 2006

User avatar
MaryF
Forum Assistant
Posts: 4170
Joined: Feb 26, 2018

Re: Seagoville, TX -- 2018 -20

Post by MaryF » Tue Sep 15, 2020 12:57 pm

..
John Bunker Sands Wetland Center

Journal Entry #23 May 14th......... WE ARE FAMILEEE.........(Song lyrics from the 70's). I found JBS 13 on the nest today feeding on a meal likely provided by Mom or Dad. He then joined them on the tower for this family portrait. In spite of my hand motions urging them to pose closer together, they maintained their regal disregard and moved no closer.


Image: Tom Fleming
TX   3 on tower  6-20.jpg

Journal Entry #23 Continued................ THE TRAINING WHEELS are off. JBS 13 has quickly mastered the skills of flight. In this image, he is in the midst of a vertical drop from a height of about 2500 ft to come to rest on the tower.

Image: Tom Fleming
TX   feet down   5-13-20.jpg
Member since July, 2006

Post Reply

Return to “Other North American Eagle Cams”