October 22, 2014 in Bald Eagle
The bald eagle adult pair continue to be seen perched together along the North Andover side of the Merrimack River. They were in perch mode both this morning and late afternoon with overcast skies, winds this morning blowing 20 mph+ and gusting to 25 mph and then late afternoon blowing 25+ and gusting up over 30 mph. Late afternoon heavier rain and fog.
October 21, 2014 in Bald Eagle
A bit later in the morning, had a nice chance to view this eagle in flight heading east after passing the Rt. 495 overpass. My vantage point was from the Lawrence side of the river near the ballpark next to the county correctional facility. An orange leg band is able to be seen on the left leg, but it is not clear enough to noe to leg band numbers. Hopefully, next time around!!
October 21, 2014 in Bald Eagle
Two adult eagles observed this morning on the North Andover side of the Merrimack River. Little to no wind, overcast skies, and temperature just under 50 degrees. They were perched in different trees less that 100 feet apart. They eventually departed downriver after getting repeatedly buzzed by a pack of crows.
October 7, 2014 in Bald Eagle
The wintering bald eagles have returned with initial sightings the last week in September along the Merrimack River in Lawrence near the North Andover border. This was a busy location last year. Over past two weeks, both adults and sub adults have been seen with regularity. This image was captured on a cloudy morning and is being used to document these early off season sightings. The winter show begins!
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.
May 31, 2014 in Bald Eagle
The nest in NW Essex County has two healthy eagle chicks this year. They are getting larger and are starting the wing flapping process as they move around the nest and move more frequently onto the ridge of the nest providing better views!
As nestlings, eagles progress through three different sets of feathers including natal down, thermal down, and juvenile feathers. Chicks are hatched with a coat of natal down. This down is very light in color and does not have much insulating ability such that chicks must be brooded by an adult for warmth. Natal down is replaced by thermal down beginning around 10 days of age. Thermal down has very good insulating qualities and by 15 days chicks are typically able to thermoregulate on their own. The emergence of juvenile feathers including contour and flight feathers typically begins on or before 27 days. These dark feathers are arranged in tracts and emerge in sequence beginning with the capital (head) and dorsal (back) tracts. The ventral (belly) tract is the last feather group to emerge. Flight feathers including the wing and tail continue to grow throughout the development period reaching their maximum lengths around the time of fledging. The last phase of development as nestlings is neurological or the learning of coordinated movements. This includes walking, feeding, and flying. The final month of development is consumed by acquiring the coordination needed for movement and flight.
May 31, 2014 in Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle nest in NE Essex county continues to look good for chicks. Reports have been coming in that the small brown headed chicks are starting to poke their heads up and are just starting to be seen. Stay tuned!
May 21, 2014 in Bald Eagle
Another Bald Eagle nest has been added to the local observation circuit! This nest is in the northeast area of Essex county and near the Merrimack River. It has been productive the last few years and chicks from this nest have been seen and photographed on the Merrimack in Lawrence, MA. The female is on nest with possibly 2 chicks ready to make an appearance very soon!
April 28, 2014 in Bald Eagle
Once the bald eagle has reached the stage where its secondary down is beginning to be replaced, it is called a juvenile. From the fourth to the eighth week, the juvenile bald eagle continues to grow at a rapid rate. It continues to molt, losing its secondary down and gaining the feathers or plumage of the juvenile eagle. The plumage of the juvenile eagle is far less striking than that of the adult eagle. It appears to be a dark grayish brown. The coloring of the juvenile bald eagle is very similar to the coloring of the adult golden eagle.
The physical changes that the juvenile eagle undergoes in its growth from youth to adulthood can be described as moving from muted, darker, all-one-color shades to the striking high-contrast colors of the adult.
For example, the juvenile’s eyes progress from a dark brown, to a lighter brown, to a cream to its adult coloring of yellowish white. The bald eagle’s beak and cere transfrom from a dark black or gray to a mixture of gray and black to a mixed yellow and gray to the adult vibrant yellow. Its head feathers are dark brown to black in the juvenile but get progressively lighter brown and gray until they turn a dirty gray just before achieving the brilliant white head feathers of the adult bald eagle. The lower breast of the juvenile is a dark brown which becomes molted and then returns to a very dark brown in the adult. The tail changes from black with gray near the vane to a mixed gray and black to a final pure white in the adult eagle.
The size of the juvenile bald eagle is remarkable in that it is actually larger than the size of the fully grown adult bald eagle. This is because the plumage of the juvenile bald eagle is actually longer and thicker than that of the adult bald eagle. The adult bald eagle is more streamlined with fewer and shorter feathers than the juvenile. This streamlining contributes to the more graceful flight of the adult bald eagle. The longer feathers tend to make the juvenile eagle a bit clumsy in flight.
