I have been watching the CBC's Sidney Eaglecam for months now. Mom and Dad Bald Eagle have had two previous successful nestings, and this year they built a new nest in early April and hatched three eaglets! One was born a week after the others, so he's much smaller. The female bald eagles are larger than the males, so it's speculated that Tink (as he has been named by the eagle voyeurs) is male. He survived through all kinds of early trials and tribulations. Breeze (above) is so named because she was born on a breezy day. She is also known as BB or Big Bird. The second one, born a day after Breeze, has been named Tug or Hero because of freeing Tink from some twine that came into the nest somehow. (I am not sure if I am correct about the sexes of the birds, but I think there are one or two females and one or two males.)The picture above is of Breeze flying for the first time! The other two have not yet (as of this writing) left the nest. It was taken by Harry Johnson, who has gathered videos and whatnot on his own and posted this in the comments thread. This picture, he says, was taken from about a mile away. I just visited his YouTube videos of the eagles, they are here. And they are wonderful! This information has been taken from the comments thread underneath the videocam.
Actually, I got a little skittish about going there and watching the videocam without reading the most recent comments first, because Mom and Dad have brought some pretty big prey into the nest, and it's not pleasant to watch a live rabbit getting torn to shreds by three eaglets. I check to see what's happening before clicking on the cam. But when thinking about feeding three eaglets who are now the same size as their parents, you can imagine how very little small wildlife around this nest in Sidney, British Columbia, is safe!
Only around 50% of all eagles survive the fledging process, so I'm thinking I might have to stop watching soon, since I am so attached to them all. But little Tink has won my heart, after having watched him push the two larger eaglets away and diving in, time after time.
I am so thrilled at Breeze's fledging I just had to share it with you. I hope you enjoy these last few days, if you're interested, before they all leave the nest for good.
:-)
That is so cool, things are a little quiet right now but one of the eaglets gave a big yawn and the other stretched out a wing. I will check back later to see what's happening. Thanks for sharing this great webcam.
ReplyDeleteSorry to take so long to get over, I'm having problems with my isp. I think our cable company is working on the system
SQ
Thanks for the info on these eagles,must check out the video-i did see the one where she takes off from the nest.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I cannot get the webcam to play but clicked through all the thumbnails. It is so neat and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteDo check out the link for the YouTube videos. They are wonderful! I watched the one of Breeze taking her first flight that the picture was taken from. That link is also in the post.
ReplyDeleteI see from the comments the other eaglets will be flying away very soon too!
I looked at the YouTube video and enjoyed it very much. Thanks for giving the link. They are such beautiful birds. We saw a pair of bold eagles while at the Denali Park, but they were a distance away (I still took some photographs).
ReplyDeleteI have been watching the babies too. Hasn't it been fascinating. It's the sort of thing that you can't leave alone, isn't it. Do let us know if you find any other noteworthy wildlife webcams?
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Star