Eagle Watchers

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

The Hanover, Pa . eagles are working preparing the nest for the Feb. egg laying.  Visit HDontap for details and dates when the live cameras go on line.

 

Meanwhile I am occupied watching my own eagles.

 

View out my kitchen window this morning.

 

This immature eagle was here yesterday.

 

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

No eagles today, but this vulture showed up.     I wasn't sure what message he was sending with the spread wings.

 

Then the entire family showed up.  So I guess he was saying  "come on down".

 

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

The Hanover pair laid the first egg on Thur.  We should get the second egg this week.

 

[rjg854 12,203]

I've been watching a pair of Bald Eagles building a nest in a tall pine tree @ 75 yards on the west side of the house.  So you say they lay eggs in February @Ed Kennell ?  This will be interesting to watch if so.  Of course I'll never get up close pictures like you have shown.  I will see if I can get some pictures of them when in the tree at least.  There was one sitting out on a branch this morning but think at the time to try and get a picture.  I've got a lot of free time on my hands now, so I should be able to get some pictures of the birds.

[Jeff-C175 7,206]

Neighbor called the other day to tell me there was an Eagle munching on a deer carcass in his back field.  I grabbed my camera and started skulking through the woods as quiet as I could but I skeert up a small group of deer that took off and ran.  They in turn skeert the Eagle who took off and I couldn't get any pics.  Damn!

 

There's at least three mating pairs in residence at the local (less than a mile as the Eagle flies) reservoir.

Edited January 19, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[rjg854 12,203]

I was able to get a picture just now, course I'm away and had to tele-o-photo the picture and then blow it up, to come up with this

 

you can just make out the mate in front of the trunk of the tree.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

You should see eggs by Valentines Day Randy @rjg854.

[rjg854 12,203]

How long before the eggs hatch, Ed. This is going to be something special to keep track of.  So happy to have the time each and every day to watch the whole process. To bad I don't have a way to share this experience with all that would be interested.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

About 35 days for bald eagles.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

This is our local Hanover eagle nest about an hour ago.        You can watch them on several live feed cameras on HDONTAP.

[rjg854 12,203]

Odd to me that this is the time of year to be laying and hatching eggs.  I would have thought this would happen in the Spring. Obviously the eaglets can handle the February cold. To have this happening in my backyard is mind blowing. 

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

Yeah Randy, It can be brutal when they have to stay on the eggs through a blizzard.    This was from a few years back.

 

 

[rjg854 12,203]

That's mighty interesting @Ed Kennell still odd to lay eggs this time of year   February can be such a bone-chilling month sometimes.  To see them laying under the snow, protecting the eggs. What a sight! Lots of activity here this morning.  Looks as though they are still working on the nest.  And one of them just landed in the same field the cows are grazing in.  Looked to be pouncing on something, then whatever it was brought back to the nest.  Small enough I couldn't tell, but I'm thinking a wee bit of breakfast.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

Your right Randy It does seem strange to lay eggs in the dead of winter.    But it does probably promote strength in the species.  The weak don't survive.    It does take nearly all summer for the new born eagles to develop well enough to leave the nest.   This is probably why  they have to lay the eggs so early.   Enjoy the show.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

   We got eggs.

 

[Handy Don 14,063]

Very neat, Ed.

Some good eagle spotting places not far from me along the Hudson and Croton rivers.  The eagles feast on the fish they catch in the shallow parts and nest in the trees nearby. Planning to head down there with my new binoculars in an hour or so to check it out.

[rjg854 12,203]

There may be eggs in the nest that's in the pine tree out back. Yesterday was a nice sunny day and one of the eagles was flying around but the other never left the tree but it did move around a little bit. So I'm guessing that it stayed there to protect the eggs but that's just my opinion. Too bad I didn't have a nice camera set up like you have to be sure.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

You probably have eggs Randy.      They won't both leave the nest and let the eggs exposed for more than a few minutes.    They turn the eggs at least every hour.

[Ed Kennell 42,009]

i  Interesting picture of a bald eagle nest.