Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Camera discussion for the Surrey Reserve nest in Surrey, British Columbia

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gemini
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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by gemini » Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:42 am

3:10 am Went back to 2:30 pm and only found one visit by a parent. At 9:40 pm Sur arrived with a small piece of food. Not sure what it was but Ess got it and consumed the whole thing.


:vid: Sur arrives with a late night snack for one.


3:37 am Dee down with head tucked, Ess up for PS and some preening
6-21-2019  3-37 am.jpg
Good night :offtobed:
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JudyB
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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by JudyB » Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:31 am

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for the updates!

One of the adults was in at 7:28 am with a large rabbit - and it was big enough that both eaglets were able to grab part and try to claim it.
20190621_001.jpg

Eventually Dee got it and took it over to the left side of the nest (from the North cam view) - but after a bit, Ess noticed that there was a lot of rabbit that wasn't being eaten, and tried to pull it away.
20190621_002.jpg

That didn't work - Dee had a good grip on it. Ess tried again - and Dee again had a good grip - and then Ess realized no one was eating the part she'd been trying to pull, so she started eating that end while Dee continued on the other end!
20190621_003.jpg

I'm not sure who made the delivery - it looked like Res in the nest though I didn't see any of her white stripes - but looked more like Sur when he or she went to the perch afterwards. I think the whole delivery was fairly quick, so I'll see about making a video.


Added - it was Sur; I could see the dark spot on his tail at the start of the video. The video shows the South/Wide Angle view first, then the North/Overhead view; Sur flew of shortly after I switched to the North view.

:vid: Rabbit for Breakfast (2 minutes)

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by JudyB » Fri Jun 21, 2019 9:04 am

I did look back on the dvr until first light, and didn't see any other visits - though we all know it's easy to miss a visit now that the adults are in and out so quickly. I did take this screenshot while I was looking back - nothing much was happening - just the eaglets wandering around the nest - but I do love this light.
20190621_005.jpg

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by BETHINB.C. » Fri Jun 21, 2019 9:42 am

Good morning everyone, I was just going to report that there was a visit at 7:28 am and bingo! Judy already did..thank you, Judy.
Yes, it was a quick drop and I wasn't sure which parent did it, at first I thought Res and now Judy pinned it down to Sur. Good job Judy.
The drops are very quick now, a drop and run in most cases. Both eaglets ate off the one rabbit. I watched as they fought over it and then settled on 1 on each end. lol.
I am off this morning, I have to go do some shopping. Have a great day and keep up the video's.. I love them. xxx :)

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by JudyB » Fri Jun 21, 2019 12:18 pm

I'm glad you saw that, Beth - it was fun watching them discover that the food was big enough that they could both eat!

Mom brought a delivery at 11:25 am - as far as I could tell, it was mostly bones with a wee bit of meat, but Dee and Ess were happy to squabble over it and pull it back and forth. And Res was even willing to feed them a few bites, though I'm not sure if they came from the bones or something on the nest. I must admit I wasn't sure who it was at first - she's really moving well around the nest! But looking at the video slowly, I'm seeing the white stripes on her back, and her tail looked completely white.

And while I'm getting ready to save the video and take some screenshots to post, this seems a good time to discuss the possible gender of the two eaglets. Female eagles are almost always larger than male eagles, and Res is definitely larger than Sur when you see them side by side (the 4th picture here - viewtopic.php?f=114&t=333#p109103 - shows that quite well). And by the time eaglets are ready to fledge, they are almost always larger than the same gender parent - so almost all fledglings are larger than their dads, and almost all female fledglings are also larger than their moms.

Dee and Ess are almost 10 weeks old, which is generally the beginning of the fledging window (though it's my impression that eagles in BC usually wait until they are 11 or 12 weeks old, and sometimes older - the normal fledging window is 10-14 weeks) - which means their feathers are still growing some, and they will probably get a bit bigger. I've been watching to see if one is getting bigger than the other, and so far I haven't see that happen (though it still could - males reach full size at a slightly younger age than females). Anyway - here's where I'm going with this.... :)

Gemini sent David Hancock a link to one of her recent videos of Res on the nest so David could see the progress Res is making with her leg (he was very pleased with her progress!) - and he said that Ess looked like a female to him, and that Dee looked slightly bigger than Ess, so was probably also female - and he was amazed at how big they both are!

So - unless their apparent sizes change, I'm going to start calling both she for simplified sentence structure. :love:

And as you watch the video - what do you think? Are they already as big as Mom?

Mom feeding Ess as Dee works on the bones.
20190621_006.jpg

Eaglets tugging on the bones.
20190621_007.jpg

This was as close as I could get to Res and Ess side by side - they move quickly! And Ess may be puffed up a bit in a mini-mantle to protect her part of the carcass.
20190621_008.jpg

Thoughts?


:vid: Res and Eaglets (2 minutes)

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by BETHINB.C. » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:24 pm

Hi again everyone, Thank you so much for all the information and pictures of the gang. I would almost say both eaglets are bigger then Res, I was looking the other day as well and was wondering at the time..somewhere it was mentioned that males are smaller the than the females yet I saw both eaglets a bit bigger then Res.. I was confused but now see why that would be.. I sure enjoy you all keeping us up to date on all the details. I had to chuckle at the bones that were brought in by Res. She sure does make sure her babies are fed at all time.

I am also so pleased to see that her leg is on the mend. I was so worried for her, My husband was saying how he wished humans could heal that quickly. This adventure has been so wonderful, one I will remember for the rest of my life. Thank you all!

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by JudyB » Fri Jun 21, 2019 2:49 pm

Thanks, Beth! I think I didn't mention that the reason fledglings are generally larger than adults of the same gender is that their first set of feathers, which they are growing now, are longer than the feathers they will have as adults. I'm not sure how much longer - but enough to make them appear larger even though their bodies underneath are likely similar in size. The longer feathers make it easier for them to fly when they are first learning and need some extra lift because they haven't learned how to use the air currents the way they will as adults. They go through several molts before they end up with the typical adult feather pattern, and apparently each set of feathers is slightly shorter than the one before, until they're about 5 years old and have the typical white head and tail of a full adult.

It's now 2:45 pm, and I haven't seen any additional visits - and at least one of the eaglets is busily calling for food from time to time, in spite of the nice big breakfast. It's hard to tell in this light and from this angle, but I think it's Ess who is napping and Dee who is up and calling.
20190621_009.jpg

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by BETHINB.C. » Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:45 pm

Thanks, Judy, I wondered how they could be bigger now I know..lol. :)

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by BETHINB.C. » Fri Jun 21, 2019 4:48 pm

Hi again ladies, my husband just asked if they come back to the nest after they have left?
It must be a shock for them after being fed constantly by the parents to leave and have to find food on their own.
Just wondering.. :)

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by JudyB » Fri Jun 21, 2019 8:06 pm

Fledglings generally stay in the area around the nest for at least a week or two, and sometimes for a month or more. When there are two or more eaglets, it seems that they usually eat on the nest for a while, especially if one fledges a few days before the other - though we will have to see what these eaglets do.

I’ve been watching much of the time until fairly recently and didn’t see any visits, though I wasn’t watching constantly and may well have missed something.

Goodnight, all! :offtobed:

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by BETHINB.C. » Fri Jun 21, 2019 10:19 pm

Thanks, Judy, I am off to bed. see you all tomorrow for awhile.
Nite..

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by nightowl » Sat Jun 22, 2019 12:09 am

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

:bye 1:
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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by gemini » Sat Jun 22, 2019 3:54 am

2:23 am I checked back to JudyB's last post and there were no further visits to the nest. These kids will be mighty hungry tomorrow. Going from 11:25 this morning without food is a long time!

Actually, I went back to 11:24 am earlier and watched Ess and Dee work on the bone that Mom brought in. It looked to be nothing more than a long piece of bone with little meat on it but it kept Ess (first to work on it) and Dee(after Ess gave up on it) busy for a good hour and twenty minutes.

Each has one end of the bone in their beak
6-21-2019  11-25 am.jpg


Ess works away on the bone and finally breaks it into two pieces. Dee steals a piece while Ess is busy working on the other one.
6-21-2019  11-53 am.jpg


After awhile Ess decides she wants the other piece back but Dee says no way!
6-21-2019  12-05 pm.jpg
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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by IrishEyes » Sat Jun 22, 2019 4:44 am

Good Morning everyone.. thanks nighowl for starting the day here and gemini for her post~

Weather Report
screenshot_29.jpg
4:37a
Windy.. the kids are down in the nest and awake
screenshot_30.jpg
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HELPFUL HINTS.......Bev...member since 08/04/09

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Re: Surrey Reserve 2018-2019 Observation and Discussion

Post by JudyB » Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:21 am

Good morning, everyone! Did a look back on the dvr and found a visit from Res at 4:55 am
20190622_001.jpg

Not sure what she brought (and I'm almost positive it is Res - saw a stripe on the back and the little tuft of feathers on the head) - looked like a bit of a mess but seemed easy to eat. I think Dee got it, though I'm less sure of that.
20190622_003.jpg

A little later the other eaglet was pulling off a piece - not my idea of the perfect breakfast, but they seemed to like it!
20190622_002.jpg

It's now 7:20 am and I didn't see any additional visits.

I'm not going to be around much today - doing some things with Charlie. I will be back this evening and will try to check the dvr then. Hopefully we'll see more food soon - whatever that was, they both got some, but there wasn't that much of it.

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