Day Journal

Got this from Randy Robinson today, thought you'd like to see it:

Ma eagle braved the wind storm Sunday and the snow and ice today....90 ft.up in her sycamore tree.
She is setting on 3 eggs....night and day.
I saw the eagle pair mating this morning.....at least it looked like that....hard to tell from 300 yards.
Maybe for insurance.... if the current clutch of eggs don't hatch.
This is the 3rd year in a row that she has laid 3 eggs.
Pretty unusual...eagles mostly lay 1 or 2 eggs.




A few minutes later she tucks her beak under her wing....like chickens, ducks and other birds do when they sleep. This helps conserve the heat that they loose through their beak.





Well, it's nearly 8pm and quite dark outside. The infrared beam of the nest cam
makes it appear that light is shining on the nest.....but infrared light is not visible to the human eye.
We see this image only because the camera can 'see' infrared light.
Don't know if science has determined whether eagles and other birds can see infrared.
If they can, the infrared light has never seemed to bother the NCTC eagles.
Ma eagle is still resting with her beak tucked under her wing.
If all goes well, the first egg should hatch @ the first week in March.



Yesterday's bad weather turned worse. Freezing rain started last night
and continues today. Everything is covered in a layer of ice, including ma eagle and her nest.
In the picture below, she is spreading her wings ..... the only way she can attempt to keep the nest somewhat dry.
But, when she spreads her wings like this, she looses her own body heat faster.
She is now depending on the male bird to bring her food to maintain her energy and body heat.
After a night and day of freezing rain, her feathers are soaked and she will loose body heat even faster.
This is similar weather to March 2007, which resulted in last years eggs not hatching.
The wetter the nest gets, the harder it is to keep the eggs warm enough to incubate.



It's mid afternoon....still no sign of the male eagle, and no food.
The rain has tapered off but the wind is picking up.
Sun is 'trying' to shine ..... maybe tomorrow will be a little warmer.


By late afternoon, the wind picks up and the male has finally returned.
But......where's the fish ?
Maybe just enough light to catch one before dark.....