Thursday Afternoon Report 3/30

Here's a great shot of all five eagles in the nest just after 3:00 PM EST today. It's a warm 67 degrees right now. Note the three eaglet sizes, oldest top right, middle top left and youngest bottom left.


Update: You might have noticed a dark spot above the left eye on the female eagle. This mark showed up several days ago, and speculation as to its cause is varied. One explanation is that it could be an injury incurred while the female was defending the nesting territory against an intruder. There has been a third adult bald eagle occasionally seen in the area over the past two weeks. A few folks did witness one of the parents chasing the intruder from the area near the nest tree. Most defense techniques include perching near the nest where all other birds can see the adult, threat vocalizations, and sometimes chasing. If our female did chase the intruder, she could have caught the tip of a talon on her head. The mark does not appear to be getting larger, and is probably just a spot missing a few feathers.