April 11, 2017 in Bald Eagle
A late afternoon visit to Bald Eagle nest #1 in Essex county for nice looks at the young eagle nestling. Rough estimate that this young baby eagle is about 3-4 weeks old. No sign yet that there is another young bird in the nest. This was a moment when the adults were not in the nest and the the young nestling was up and about checking out the local surroundings!
March 23, 2017 in Bald Eagle
Sixty to ninety percent of a bald eagle’s diet consists of fish. The birds generally scavenge dead fish, although they will catch live fish as well. The bald eagle is an opportunist and will sometimes steal fish from an osprey or crow. But ospreys have been observed stealing fish from young eagles as well. The bald eagle uses several fishing techniques. A favorite method is to perch in a tree and watch for a fish swimming in open water nearby, and then swoop down to capture it. If a suitable tree is not available near the water for perching, the birds may also fly out over open water looking for fish below. In winter, they may perch on the edge of ice near open water and wait for fish to float by, or to wash up on the ice. After catching a fish the eagle fly back to a perching tree to eat it, bring it back to the nest, or if the fish is small enough, swallow the fish whole while the bird is in flight. Occasionally, eagles will carry a larger fish they have caught back to the ice or to the shore to be eaten. In over 80% of their feeding, wintering bald eagles along the Merrimack River, feed upon small fish they can eat while flying.
March 23, 2017 in Bald Eagle
A lovely sight to observe this female Bald Eagle on next with eggs. She is hunkered down in the nest and takes infrequent trips away from nest for quick bathroom breaks and feeding runs. Throughout the 33-35 day incubation period, one parent is always on the nest, not only to keep the eggs warm but to protect them from squirrels and gulls which would relish the chance to break open and eat the eagle’s eggs!
March 15, 2017 in Bald Eagle
Observed the male perched adjacent to the nest with the female hunkered down after the big snowfall. Incubating eagles will sit on the nest almost continuously. The eggs need to be maintained at a temperature close to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Adults share incubation duties. Nest exchanges may occur after only an hour but usually take several hours between exchanges. Frequently the incoming adult brings a new branch or fresh vegetation for the nest, then the incubating adult carefully stands and takes off while the other settles over the eggs and rakes nesting material up against its body. During nest exchange adults may both be in nest or sometimes one adult may leave eggs unattended for a few minutes before the other adult arrives and resumes incubation. The first nest exchange of the day often occurs at or before sunrise, with next exchanges following every 1-4 hours.
March 13, 2017 in Bald Eagle
For Bald Eagles, eggs must be kept warm, shaded from harsh sunlight, and protected from predators. In addition to incubating, the eagles also need to turn the eggs about once an hour to ensure that the eggs are evenly heated and that the embryos don’t stick to the insides of the shells. When turning the eggs, the eagles often balled up their talons to prevent their sharp claws from puncturing the eggs. The eggs are rolled over by either parent about every hour to 2 hours during the incubation period. The purpose of this roll is to make sure that the lighter yolk does not rise to the egg surface and the delicate blood vessels that cover the yolk touch and stick to the shell surface, killing the developing chick.The brood patch is an area of bare skin on the bird’s breast that is formed when the bird removes its own feathers. By removing the feathers the parent bird allows his/her body heat to better reach the eggs and keep them at the proper temperature.
The female was observed late afternoon rising above the level of the nest while she was doing her egg turning thing, providing nice looks!
March 7, 2017 in Bald Eagle
This new Bald Eagle nest may well be used for the first time in 2017. The nest was completed in the fall of 2015 and the Eagle pair spent a great deal of time around the nest in the spring of 2016. But it appears that no eggs were ever laid. This “playing house” is not unusual among a newly formed pair of Eagles.
It has been stated for many years that a Bald Eagle pair will mate for life, but if one partner dies, or disappears, the other will if lucky find another mate. A newly bonded pair may work several years on a nest before actually breeding. They may desert one nest site and start again somewhere else, usually within 1/2 mile. In Eastern Massachusetts, bald eagles will begin to nest sometime in February or March. Each nesting pair will spend a great amount of time preparing the nest before any egg is laid. The successful nest is generally located in a large tree, within one mile from water, either a lake or river, where adequate food is available.
Bald eagle nests are generally found from (50 to 120 feet) above the ground, in a tall, sturdy tree. It takes at least two weeks for a pair of eagles to build their nest.
A typical bald eagle nest will range from 6-10 feet in diameter and about 6 to 10 feet high. The nest cavity, where the eggs are laid, will be about 12 to 16 inches in diameter and about 4 inches deep.
A pair of eagles, once established, may use the same nest several times over a period of years. Each year more materials are added to the nest, which increases the size of the nest each year that it is used. Nests weighing up to 2 tons have been found. Stay tuned!
February 29, 2016 in Bald Eagle
The bald eagle nest along the Merrimack in Essex County remains an active location for a pair of adult bald eagles. They are seen with greater frequency in and around the nest. According to state wildlife officials, this is a new next location for 2016 and not previously known in prior years. We will now look for clear signs that the female has laid eggs and has commenced the incubation process!
June 24, 2014 in Bald Eagle
This Bald Eagle is located in a nest in NW Essex County and it is ready to fledge and is expected to make first flight in next few days!
June 24, 2014 in Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle nest in northeast Essex County along the Merrimack has 2 chicks this year. Stopped by on a warm late June afternoon and observed the eaglet panting in the warm heavy air. Like dogs, eagles don’t have sweat glands. They control heat by panting, radiation through their unfeathered legs and feet, and perching in the shade.
April 26, 2014 in Bald Eagle
The recent posting on the Bald Eagle pair in Essex County included a series of copulation sequence photos. It was unclear if this was part of a post egg hatching ritual for this pair of Eagles. Although a posting was made on April 1 that made mention of a likely feeding process, no chick was observed during that observation period.
A late visit to the nest provided an opportunity to observe an adult perched on the rim of the nest under cloudy conditions. The adult then flew off to the northeast. Every effort was made to look for any sign of a chick. Nothing is sight…..and then to my delight and surprise, a wing and then the dark crown of a chick head appeared. Great news for the breeding effort this year.
A few minutes later, moved to another vantage point, looking for a better view of the chick. This effort afford another terrific surprise with the sighting of second chick int he nest! WOW! Low quality photos of 2 chicks, one with head raised and other just showing its shoulder. Stay tuned!!
