Saturday June 3

Lots of rain last night, forecast is better today.

Part 4

A whole collage of Todd Harless Shots.

Part 3

Here's another shot. You can see the webcam up the right hand tree trunk in the top right corner of the picture.

Friday June 2 part 2

This shot was taken the other day by NCTC Production Chief Steve Hillebrand.

Friday June 2

We are doing a lot of maintenance on our closed circuit tv systems today and that is impacting the cams--they are down right now.

In the meantime, I'll post a number of shots taken by NCTC folks recently. The one above was taken by Todd Harless and shows one of the adults in their watch over the nest mode.

More pics soon.

Thursday June 1

Back from DC. Another hot morning. The live cam is up. Still need to get a report from Karen for everybody.

Wed. May 31

In DC all day and just had time now to check in. Big storms this early AM, and the weather is supposed to moderate.

Sorry for the continued issues with the live cam. I'll be at NCTC tomorrow, so I'll pursue a better fix. Next thursday night is an evening lecture series program at NCTC. If you come out for the show, this time on Green Infrastructure, featuring my colleague Mark Benedict at the Conservation Fund, you'll be able to get a great view of the nest. More info at training.fws.gov then click on events and Conservation and Community.

Tuesday May 30

A hot one today. Live video feed should be up shortly.

more later.


UPDATE 1:13 PM: Live feed is back up

Sunday May 28

Summer's here and the live cam is staying up. Hope everyone gets out and does something this holiday weekend.

Friday May 26

Lots of speculation on the comments about first flights. I'll ask Karen here for her thoughts.

more soon.

More May 25

Looking like rain here...

more later.

May 25

Here's the picture from the article in today's Washington Post showing George and Martha.

Tuesday May 23

It is an amazing day here weatherwise--truly a bluebird day in West Virginia. A deep blue sky, 53 degrees and a 35 degree dewpoint! Was in the 30s this am!

Our eagles are very active.

A few questions from Sunny:

"A couple of questions: Are the adults still beak-feeding the eaglets? And since the adults aren't on the nest very much any more, is one always in sight of the nest, or are they 'out and about' all day? Thanks for educating us!"

The eaglets tend to be helping themselves nowadays. About 9:15 this AM one of the adults brought in a fresh fish, and they all started in on it. The other adult even came in for a minute or two to get a few bites. Regarding the adults, there does always seem to be one within a few seconds of the nest. Often they are perched in the sycamore nest tree or in an adjacent tree.

Monday 22 May

Lights, Camera, Action.

Back from NE and see that the cam is on. Great work NCTC Folks.

More later.

Friday May 19

Hi Folks,

Here's the latest on the webcam problems:


From: Karen Lindsey
Sent: 05/19/2006 12:49 PM
To: Steve Chase
Subject: Eagle Cam

Hi Steve,

It appears that there is some problem with the camera at the tree end. We
went to the bottom of the tree today and could not get a video signal on
the portable monitor. John and Mike are thinking on it, and if they come
up with any ideas, we'll give it a try.

K


Folks, we will do everything we can to get this thing going again. Please bear with us.

Wednesday May 17

Here's a late Post from our Land Manager:


"Our eaglets are 9 weeks old this week. As you can see, they have replaced
most of their downy feathers with the darker juvenile body and flight
feathers. This transition between the down and the juvenile feathers must
be complete before the eaglets can be successful in their first flight.
Bald eagle research suggests that this transition takes place between 10
and 12 weeks, depending on the eaglets themselves, their general health,
and their diet up until this time. The NCTC eaglets have had very loyal
and attentive parents who have brought ample food for all three eaglets to
survive and develop. A good sign that fledging is nearing is the increased
activity by the eaglets--flapping their wings, jumping up and down, moving
about the nest, sitting on the edge of the nest, etc. However, they won't
attempt flight until their feathers are ready. At that point the parents
will begin a behavior of enticing the eaglets out of the nest. They will
do this by not bringing food to the nest for the eaglets, but rather flying
nearby with food in their talons and calling to the eaglets. Soon, the
eaglets, out of hunger and in response to the parent's call will begin
flapping vigorously and take their first leap into the air. Most eaglets
fly a short distance and make a clumsy landing either in a nearby tree or
on the ground. Wherevery they land the parents will reward them with food
immediately, and continue to feed and encourage them to fly. If an eaglet
lands on the ground, it is important to get back in the air as soon as they
can so they can be safe from other predators on the ground. Our eaglets
have been demonstrating lots of wing flapping and jumping, so they are
nearing the time of fledging. However, the last two broods from these
parents have been fairly close to the 12 week mark. I don't expect them to
fledge for another couple of weeks, but it could happen. Keep your eye on
them, and if anyone sees the first fledge, please be sure to let us know
through the website email or the eagle cam blog."--Karen



Also, I've been looking at the web statistics for the cams and they are impressive. More than 1,000,000 visitors and over 17 million hits on the sites. Folks from 50 countries have looked in on our eagles including Peru, China, New Zealand and India.

Will be out of the office the next few days, but will be checking in.

Tuesday May 16

I'm trying to get the status on the live cam. Still not working...


Update 5:00 PM--Still not working, my apologies...I'm in DC the next few days, but will still try to track down the problems.

Monday PM

Things have dried out a bit here. Lots of speculation as to when the oldest eaglet may finally fly. I too have seen him lift off a little in the nest, but I still think we have a few weeks to go for a full flight. It will be the oldest's 8 week birthday on thursday.

Wet Monday May 15

Live video is on, and the rain looks like it's moving on, although the forecast is for showers through Tuesday. Seems like our eaglets are getting used to the rain.

Tried to get a picture posted but blogger is all clogged up. I'll try again later.

Sunday May 14

Live cam is on...

Forecast is T-storms this afternoon.

Saturday May 13

Drying out after more rain last night.

Friday May 12

I have been out of the office again today, so I just took a quick look at the site and caught one of the adults bringing in more twigs with leaves. I know that folks have asked if we could explain that. My only guess would be that it is just normal maintenance of the nest and that leaves are easier to get now than dried grass.

On other questions--we do track how many hits we get on the eagle cam site and the live video site. I don't track the blog stats, but that's really secondary. I'll get the cam data and let you folks know how many people are watching. I think that number is a large one.

We'll also get a status report from our land manager next week.

Weather is pretty good right now, but more storms may be headed in tonight.

Heavy Weather Thursday

Wow. The cold front came through about six this evening, with wild winds and heavy, heavy rain. One of the adults got down in the nest and helped the trio ride out the storm. As said in the comments, they did look like a bunch of drowned rats. I too was worried that one was missing for a time, but by 8:30 or so you could again see all three.

Thursday May 11

Three wet, but tough, little eagles.

Wednesday May 10

Another bright sunny day here. Live video is up.

more later.

Tuesday May 9

Another cool wet day. Be down in DC today so here's an early breakfast shot.

May 8 #2

A late breakfast just got delivered. The Live cam is back on.

May 8

Wet day today. Here's a shot of eight week old eaglets up at Lake Umbagog NWR in New Hampshire, photo by Bill Hanson .

May 5

We've gotten some questions on first flights. Here's a description, again from Bent:

"At last the day comes for the eaglets to leave the nest. Sometimes they do so voluntarily; but in some cases it seems necessary to use persuasion. In Dr. Herrick's (1924c) "first season with the Eagles the young seemed disinclined to leave their eyrie and were finally starved out and lured away." After two days of scanty feeding and two days of fasting, "as the old Eagle with the fish was circling just above the nest the Eaglet was jumping with legs rigid and flapping frantically; suddenly it leaped into the air, and for a second seemed to hang, as if poised over the eyrie; at that moment the circling Eagle began to scream, and swooping down at the hovering and now screaming youngster passed him within six feet; a minute later the Eaglet, still holding to the air, drifted fifteen feet or more beyond the margin of the nest; with vigorous wing-beats it began to move eastward, following the mother bird with the fish and made a full mile in its first independent flight; it finally landed in the branches of a tree on the edge of a strip of woods and doubtless was there allowed to feed on the tantalizing fish."

For some time after they leave the nest, probably all through their first summer, the young eagles associate with their parents in the home territory and frequently return to the nest or their favorite perches. But they are eventually driven out to earn their own living and seek new territory. They are never allowed to establish a breeding station near their parental home."


Update: Watch when the eaglets spread their wings. There's still a lot of down there, thus we need to see a bunch more feathers growing in before these critters are ready to soar.

How Big are They Now?

One of our blog readers, Jo from Maryland, sent me this photograph from the Blackwater NWR eagle site. She asked are our eaglets this big now?

It is tough to gauge their size on the cam. Our eaglets are a bit smaller than the one pictured, we're guessing this Blackwater NWR bird is a week or two older than our oldest eaglet.

May 4

Lunchtime shot. I could see the biggest eaglet standing on the side of the nest as I drove in this morning. These critters are growing fast.

Wednesday May 3

Some great bald eagle life history info from Arthur Cleveland Bent's Life Histories of North American Birds:

On the growing eaglets:

"With the increase in size and strength comes an increase in activity, with more time devoted to play and exercise in preparation for flight. Activities begin by walking or jumping about the nest, which soon becomes trodden quite flat, picking up and playing with sticks, learning to grasp objects in the talons, and stretching and flapping their growing wings. With tail raised and head lowered the eaglet backs up to the edge of the nest and shoots its liquid excreta clear of the nest to form a "whitewashed" circle on the ground below.

"Later on the flight exercises begin in earnest, of which Dr. Herrick (1924c) writes:"

"After a while a simple routine is established--raising the wings until they seem to touch over the back, taking a few strokes and jumping; the flapping gradually comes to take their feet above the floor of the eyrie and at eight weeks of age they may be able to rise two feet or more in the air; this ability attained, they are liable to go higher and higher and in a fairly stiff breeze, which helps to sustain if not stimulate them, they begin to soar and hover. In 1922 we said "good-bye" to the Eaglets more than once before knowing the long practise they required to produce that perfect coordination of muscles and nerves which was necessary for confidence in the air. During the last week of regular eyrie life in that year they would sometimes rise to a height of fifteen feet, and soar for a full minute, going even beyond the confines of the nest and always with talons down to facilitate landing upon their return."

and on food:

"The large amount of food found in the nests of bald eagles containing young indicates that the eaglets, even when small, are fed on much the same food that the adults eat, or that the adults devour much of the food that is brought to the nest, or perhaps both. Mr. Pennock found in a nest with two very young eaglets, "certainly not over a few days old," an entire black duck, a headless black duck, and a headless mullet that had weighed 1 1/2 to 2 pounds. In another nest he found a partly eaten lesser scaup duck, and entire horned grebe, and three other grebes more or less mutilated. Mr. Nicholson says that the amount of food found in the nests is astonishing, and often much of it has not been touched. He lists rabbits, mostly marsh rabbits, other undetermined mammals, turtles, coots, Florida ducks, lesser scaup ducks, pied-billed grebes, little blue herons, snowy egrets, terns, killdeers, catfish (by far the most frequent species found and some up to 15 pounds in weight), black bass, seargeant fish, crevalle, pompano, and other fish. Under one nest he found between 40 and 60 skulls of mammals, about the size of rabbits. He has never found snakes in an eagle's nest, nor has he ever seen wool or bones of lambs, even in the heart of the sheep country. There is no doubt, however, that bald eagles do occasionally carry off lambs, as several good observers have seen them do it, and the bones have been found in and under their nests. Probably many of these were picked up dead, but sheep herders generally regard eagles as destructive enemies."

Late Entry May 2

Thanks to all for bearing with us with our technical difficulties the past few days. Also, it was a really busy day at NCTC with no time to do much on the blog except to check on it for a few minutes. We'll get an update from our land manager soon, I promise.

Big Day--May 1

It's been a big day for the eagles. Not seeing the cam for the weekend makes the differences from last week, both appearance and behavior, even easier to see.

One of the adults brought in this afternoon what looks like a pigeon. The adult gave a lesson in plucking feathers, and then our youngest eaglet stepped up, put talons on the pigeon, and started trying to pluck.

In addition, two of the eaglets were helping themselves to the meal, without being fed. Combine this with the largest eaglet perched fully upright on the edge of the nest, and I think the kids are now adolescents. Hope they behave.

Cam Back Up

Update 1:05 EDT--Video feed is back up.

Monday May 1

We came in expecting to just reset things, but the technical issues are out in our Denver office, not here in WV.

So hang in there, once those folks get to work we'll get things reset and hopefully the problems will be solved and the pictures will be rolling.

Friday 4/28 Wrap up

The weather today could not be better--a bluebird day in WV--62 degrees, crisp air, breeze from the north.

We went out for an hour to participate in Adopt a Highway, and as we walked back in we saw one of the adults, soaring high above us with a couple of turkey vultures! There no saying what company these birds keep sometimes. It was a spectacular site as the birds circled high above us, with the white head and tail of the eagle sharply defined against the deep blue sky.

The photos above were taken by NCTC alum and FWS retiree Jim Clark back in 2004. The nest shot (click on it) gives you a great new perspective on the nest albiet a bit smaller back then.

Great Eagle Rehab Story

Someone passed this site off to me recently. It tells a great story about the rehabilitation of a bald eagle up in Pennsylvania, with some good pictures and a short video clip.

Friday 4/28

Here's a shot from the eaglecam over at Blackwater NWR on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The two eaglets in this nest are older than our NCTC eaglets, so you can see what we'll be seeing here in another couple weeks.

more from NCTC later.

More

FWS Press Release out today.

Fish for Breakfast 2 4/27

Got a call from Washington that someone was worried that Eaglet 3 was not moving. He/she wasn't moving much till Dad just brough back a smallmouth from the river. Funny how the two older eaglets just sat there and let number three get some of the choice pieces; good for them. I'm getting more and more optimistic that we could beat these mortality rate odds.

more later.

4/26

Long day today with no time to post. More tomorrow.

Thanks for all of your continued support, the live eagle cam is getting lots of traffic as is the original NCTC eagle cam.

Fish for Breakfast 4/25

About 90% of a bald eagle's diet is fish, although they do eat many other things, such as snakes, small mammals, waterfowl, and birds.

An interesting part of having a bald eagle nest on our campus is that they make a great deterrent for the nesting of resident Canada geese who seem to be everywhere nowadays. While we all like seeing Canada geese and their young, too many of them on a campus like NCTC can be a problem. Right now, the geese are sure that nesting within eyesight of the eagle nest is not a good idea, and thus where we had large numbers of gees five years ago, there are virtually none today.

Spring has Sprung 4/24

After a wet weekend, our eaglets seem no worse for the wear (and wet). Their coloration continues to rapidly change as their new, darker feathers grow in.

more later.

We Do Need the Rain 4/22

Another very wet day, and more extreme dedication by the adults to keep the eaglets dry. We do need the rain in this neck of the woods though.

Friday 4/21 PM

You have probably noticed that the largest eaglet is now darker in color than the other two. This one is starting to get his flight feathers, the other two will start turning darker in the next couple of days. The gray down is good insulation for the eaglets but is really not waterproof and they do nothing in helping the eagles to fly. The eaglets will get their flight plumage over the next couple of weeks, then you will notice them starting to really exercise their wings. The young eagles will be completely dark, probably darker than the parents, and they will not gain their distinctive white heads and tails until they are about four years old.

Thanks to Steve W. our resident eagle expert, who is now also a TV star after yesterday's broadcast.

More soon 4/21

Was in an all day meeting yesterday that continues through the morning today. Will try to get a land manager update this PM.

Shepherdstown 4/19

Been a great spring day here.

Tomorrow we do a broadcast to middle school students across the nation on eagles and our NCTC eagles. Click here for more info on it. Should note it may not be easy for folks to view this outside of schools. I will give you more details if I get them in time.

Tuesday 4/18

Here's a couple of pictures from an eagle enthusiast neighbor, Pete (see comments section a few days ago.) It gives some good views of the nest tree ( a very big sycamore) that we have not shown before.

Live Video Feed Info

Hi Folks,

Here's the scoop. The live video feed is scheduled daily, Monday through Friday 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM EDT. It is not scheduled to be up on the weekends (but I would check, you never know...) as we only had the budget to cover the five day schedule.

Right now, at 1:00 PM EDT, the feed is down due to a technical problem, we are working on it.

more soon.

Saturday 4/15

Hi Folks,

I too just tried to access the live feed and was rebuffed. We will get the official hours out there for you Monday. As I recall right now, we have contracted for eight hours each day during the work week...thus we are off the air on the weekends. As we all know the webcam is always online.

more later.

Kudos

Just wanted to let folks know that a whole team at NCTC has worked hard to make all this a reality.

So, here goes: Thanks to Karen L., Randy R., Mike G., Karin C., John K., Keith M., Steve W., Kristen S., all great FWS professionals.

I know I've forgotten someone, so thanks to everyone thus far and we'll get a comprehensive list up sometime in the future.

Thanks most of all to everyone supporting our efforts.

Friday 4/14

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the huge response to the live feed. For those of you with technical problems, the only thing I can say right now is please follow the instructions carefully. let me know on the comments if you keep having problems and we'll see if we can help.

Here's an update from our land manager:

The oldest eaglet will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. They are all growing very fast now. At 4 weeks, the eaglets are able to hold their heads up for long periods of time, flap their growing wings, and stand and walk around. You might have noticed how big their feet and beaks are. The feet and beaks grow faster, and are nearly adult size at this time. As the weather gets warmer, we will see more activity by the parents to shade the eaglets. You might have noticed the male doing this yesterday with his wings spread wide. The only water the eaglets get at this time is through the food brought to them, so it is important to not get too overheated. You might notice their beaks opened a little part of the time. They are panting to help them stay cool--just like dogs. Be sure to check out the live video feed if you have a broadband internet connection, and pass it on to any school contacts you think might be interested.

Live Video!

Today's the day, the live video is up.

instructions here!!

Wednesday 4/12

Been on travel today. Our contract process is done, so I will get the info on the live video feed up hopefully tomorrow. Thanks to Jason for getting us linked up on the birdcam list.

more later.

Other Birdcams

Found this Birdcam site tonight, for those of you who want to see other nesting birds of all kinds. Of course we think the NCTC eaglecam is the coolest.

We will hopefully get ours up on this list soon.

Click here

New Dining Area

We have been getting excellent views on the live video this afternoon due to the new dining are just below the camera.

Great Picture

Thanks to Mike at NCTC for the great picture.

Tuesday, April 11

Here's a report from our land manager:

At three weeks+ old, the largest eaglet is nearing the one foot high growth mark. The smaller two are not too far behind. The webcam images are a little deceiving when it comes to gauging their size. The darker feathers we see coming in are the secondary down feathers. They are a little darker and thicker than the first down feathers. In another 2-3 weeks, we will start to see the darker juvenile body and flight feathers. As the adults move around the nest, you might have noticed it looks like their talons are curved into a ball. They do this to protect the young eaglets. The adult's talons are very sharp, and could easily injure one of the chicks if they are not careful. All three are eating well and growing fast.

Monday 4/10

Second day in a row with great weather here in West Virginia. It's still brisk though, in the mid fifties today; although the seventies are forecast for tomorrow.

The bright sunshine has allowed our eagles to dry out from saturday's rains, and the adults have been spending a good deal of time out of the nest today between feedings. What you can't see in this shot is that the adult is plucking a bird that was caught for the midday meal.


Regarding that announcement,you're hearing it first on the NCTC Eagle Cam Daily:
the folks here at NCTC have been working on getting our real-time video feed of the nest up on the web.

I don't have full details to pass on to you yet, as it could still take several days to finalize. Our plan is to offer all you folks with broadband connections the chance to watch the cam in real time video for several hours each day.

We have tested this already and it looks good, if you have that fast connection.

More on this once we get our arrangements finalized.

Rainy Saturday 4/8

We're getting alot of rain today, and it is really needed. So, our eagle adults are "tenting" today to protect the eaglets. Weather for tomorrow is mostly sunny and warmer.

See the fresh fish? With all this food available it's interesting to note that eagles have a crop (on their esophagus) where food can be stored until ready to be eaten. The crop also helps separate the meat from bones, fur and feathers, based on what's being eaten at the time.

Friday 4/7

We had a rainy morning, but it's drying out a bit and the eagles are up and active now. Here's our daily family shot above. The food continues to pour in to feed these hungry youngsters, mostly fish with an occasional snake.

We're optimistic about our youngest eaglet, who was getting a full meal an hour or so ago with minimal interferance from the oldest eaglet. But as we continue to say only time will tell.

Thanks for your continued comments, and we'll have that announcement early next week.

Thursday 4/6

It's a beautiful day here in Shepherdstown, and our eagles continue to do well. Early next week we will have some big news regarding the eagle cam program. Can't quite tell you folks what we have up our sleeves yet, but stand by--the wait will be worth it.

More later.

Wednesday 4/4 Midday Report

Cold, windy weather overnight with some rain and snow kept an adult sitting on the eaglets all morning.

It's feeding time now and all three eaglets are active. The forecast is for continued brisk weather over the next several days, so let's keep rooting for the third eaglet, who still has a ways to go.

Couple of pictures from a Blog Reader

The first picture was taken Sunday April 2 and shows the chowline.

The second picture was taken the evening of April 3rd during the powerful storms that came through the area. Note how the adult is sheltering the young eaglets.

Thanks to eaglecam friend Jo Lennox and her grandson for the pictures.

Midday Photo 4/4

Tuesday April 4 Morning Report

From Our Land Manager:

Today, eaglet 1 is 18 days old, eaglet 2 is 15 days, and the little one is 13 days. All of the eaglets are beginning to get a few dark feathers on their backs and heads. Its most apparent in the oldest one. All three are surviving the strong winds, rain and cooler temperatures. Mom and Dad continue to bring fresh grass to the nest for insulation and fresh bedding. Feeding times will probably get a little more consistent and often. The eaglets are growing very fast. Maximum growth will happen in the 3rd and 4th weeks when the eaglets will gain about 4 ounces a day. It also looks like the parents have been adding a few sticks to the perimeter of the nest--probably in preparation for the increased movement of the eaglets as they begin to explore their surroundings. Stay tuned.