NCTC - Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 2017-2018

[Dino]

Yes. I see it now. I had it backwards thinking the leg we can see was the injured one and the good leg was under her feathers. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Hopefully Belle is ok and will return.

[JudyB]

11:14 am
I think this is Smitty incubating and Belle at the back of the nest - her foot is again held out in front.

2:25 pm
This is the adult with the injured leg - I'm posting the picture of her calling because her pose is more similar to the next picture.

3:28 pm
I believe this is the other resident adult arriving - and think he looks smaller, though he is a large male!

[JudyB]

Yes. I see it now. I had it backwards thinking the leg we can see was the injured one and the good leg was under her feathers. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Hopefully Belle is ok and will return.

Oops - I have left/right issues - the leg we can see is the injured leg. Mom's right leg (which is on my left side as I look at the screen) is the one that's injured. I'll go back and clarify - thanks, Dino!

Added - I think I have them correct - and it's the leg/foot she's holding out in front that's injured, though we don't know if the actual injury is in the foot or the leg.

[Dino]

They do look different in size when you point it out. In the time I have been watching eagle nests I have only seen one time when an incubating or raising eaglet Mom was driven from the nest by an intruder. It happened at Lake Casitas which I think was in California. I was never able to find any information about how it all ended up but the poor resident female was displaced. I hope that doesn't happen here. I guess as many times as I have heard "trust the eagles" by numerous people on the forum is the way to go here now.

[Dino]

Thank you Judy for the information and pics. It does help me understand better some of the dynamics in play at this nest.

[JudyB]

I was not watching constantly, but every time I looked there was an adult, I think Dad, incubating the egg, starting at 3:28 when I noted his arrival.

At 5:42 pm, he mantled the nest and I saw another eagle on the stump at the upper right.

I don't have an exact time, but by about 6:03 pm, Dad was raising his head from time to time to look around.

Around 6:09 pm, Dad looked over to the right, though he didn't seem to be looking up at the other eagle.

[Dino]

The other eagle is definitely not Belle. With her injury I doubt she could stay on that particular branch at that angle for very long. So interesting this situation has become in the last 24 hours. Thank you for the great pics. It helps tell the story, at least some of story going on here. I grew up near this nest over the border in Maryland. It is a beautiful part of the country.

[JudyB]

At about 6:14 pm, the adult on the stump jumped into the nest. Dad stayed focused over the nest cup area, and sort of guided the intruder around the edge of the nest.

This is the point at which I started questioning who was who, because the intruder, on the left, looked like a male to me, slightly smaller than the eagle I still think is Dad, and with the sleek look I associate with males. There are sleek females, some eagles are smaller than others, and younger adults may be more slender - and looking at the third picture above, there is a bit of brown at the end of the intruder's tail - but it looks more like she/he has been somewhere dusty than older sub-adult coloring. But there are a lot of people who watch this forum who have seen a lot more young eagles than I have, so we'll have to check on that with some of them.

[JudyB]

The other eagle is definitely not Belle. With her injury I doubt she could stay on that particular branch at that angle for very long. So interesting this situation has become in the last 24 hours. Thank you for the great pics. It helps tell the story, at least some of story going on here. I grew up near this nest over the border in Maryland. It is a beautiful part of the country.

I had also wondered if it might be Belle on the stump because the eagle appeared to have a foot sort of hanging over the edge initially (and many eagles perch on one leg and dangle the other) - but it seemed clear to me from earlier this morning that Belle could not put weight on her injured leg, and the eagle was clearly using both legs as he or she moved around the nest fending off Dad's attacks.

[Dino]

I agree with you now that I see the pictures. That certainly looks like another male. I would just think that the resident male would go bonkers on that intruder. Of course he is protecting the egg while this whole scenario continues.

[JudyB]

For a minute or so afterwards, the two eagles sort of did their own thing. Dad checked the nest, and the intruder looked as if s/he might be eating something, while occasionally looking around. Dad is still fluffed up from mantling and closer to the cam - but he's looking bigger to me than the intruder in this picture.

I think this is around 6:21 pm - the intruder is coming closer to see what Dad is doing.

This is a minute or two later, and I'm including it because we're seeing both of their backs, though at a different angle. I'm still trying to decide if the intruder is male or female. I think this is Dad on the nest - and the conventional wisdom (which became conventional wisdom because it's usually right) says that males will try to protect their eggs and chicks from a female intruder, but won't fight with one - that's the job of their female partner. And Dad was acting the way I'd expect him to act with a female intruder. In the grand scheme of things, an adult eagle is more valuable than eggs or chicks so males don't attack females in defense of their nest - females are bigger, and the male is more than likely to be seriously injured or killed. As we've seen, males will attack other males, even if they're bigger. And females attack females (and don't often attack males, though they do a forceful job of chasing them away from their eggs and chicks). But the intruder just doesn't look female to me.

[JudyB]

At around 6:22 pm, after being fended off by Dad in his/her first few attempts, the intruder got to check out the nest cup area where the egg is. I will note that I did not at any point see either of them remove anything looking like pieces of egg shell, so I'm thinking/hoping the egg is probably intact.

Intruder is adjusting the fluff, while Dad watches.

[Dino]

Wow. I learned something else today. The females defend against other females for the most part. Very interesting and makes sense. Also the thought that a healthy adult is more important to the species then an egg or eaglets. I never thought about the size difference meaning a female bald eagle could do great damage or even kill a male.

[JudyB]

At about 6:25 pm, the intruder decided to move some sticks.

Another look at the two of them a minute later.

And then the intruder got a bit too far into Dad's personal space - and Dad went at him and they beaked a bit - but no serious fighting.

[Dino]

Belle is probably almost ready to lay egg #2. That could make things very interesting.