Sunday, June 22
Noon CDT
Bob deemed eagle #1 to be in good health. He released it late this morning at the hatchery. He is asking people to stay away and not crowd it.
Another eaglet was found this morning near the horse barn with a broken wing. It is on its way to Kay Neumann's rehab facility. The eaglet is not identified.
We do not know anything more than what is in this post. Time is of the essence to get this eaglet to Soar and get the proper treatment going. We have no idea how severe or simple the break, what the recovery time will be or anything else at this point. We all need just need to remain as positive and supportive as we can.
After watching the eaglet he was holding, Bob determined it could fly. He thought it might have been weak from a lack of food (he fed it last night and this morning prior to release).
The one photo we have now is not enough for us to make a positive ID. Maybe one will surface later, but Bob has been in full scramble mode for roughly the past 24 hours.
We don't have any information on the 3rd eaglet yet but will update if we know anything. If the eaglets were scattered and, as we know, one was injured, the parent may have had a difficult time keeping an eye on all 3.
We don't have any information as to why they didn't return to the nest or what happened after fledge, but they all fledged within the normal time frame.
We are all learning together this year, N2 is different than N1,as far as branching, etc....we don't know what the effect has been on the learning curve for the eaglets, we just have to watch and wait .As Bob tells us...Trust Nature...Trust the Eagles!!!
(re: treating the nest for gnats)
We tried treating the box at Great Spirit Bluff when we were down banding and it didn't last very long. (We) don't know that there are good options for safely treating the nest for long periods of time given gnat life cycles and hatch timing.
(re: The fledgling with the broken wing who is now being treated at SOAR)
We'll have to wait and see what Kay at SOAR says.
They didn't fledge that much earlier than they normally do, although it seemed rather abrupt. Bob returned the eagle he held overnight to the grounds of the hatchery this morning, where Mom and Dad will be able to find it. That eaglet has an excellent chance. Kay has a long history of rehabbing bald eagles - it was one of the reasons we went to her when Bob was called about a lead-poisoned eagle a year or two ago. If the eaglet can be saved, she'll rehab and return it.
The gnats were a nuisance but all 3 eaglets fledged in the normal time frame. We do not have any information on what happened after they fledged or what could have caused the injuries to the eaglet that has been sent to SOAR. We'll update as we know more.
(re: the location of Parents and the third eaglet)
Yes, Mom and Dad have been spotted around the nest area but no, the third one has not yet been found.
In past seasons, people on the ground have observed eaglets learning from their parents and being fed by the parents. One year, Mom and Dad would bring food drops to a huge pile of mulch that was near the Hatchery with three hungry juveniles perched on top.
The parents' behavior was pretty normal. When the eaglets reach the food drop stage, we don't see the parents in the nest quite as often, although they are still there in the background.
It is perfectly natural for the parents to not be at the nest nearly as much, as the eaglets approach fledge. The main reason I WOULD stay away if I were the parent is the way they are attacked anytime they come in!!! I timed it one day and Dad only stayed on the nest for a grand total of two seconds per food drop, that is a tricky place to be when you are trying to avoid 3 grabbing eaglets beaks!!!! They have never gone hungry, with the abundant supply of fish from the hatchery down the road, food has NEVER been an issue at this nest!!!! Many times Mom or Dad would show up with food and one or all of the eaglets couldn't be convinced to come eat!!!
It is a old OLD wives' tail that once a human touches a bird that the parents will reject it!! Eagles have a VERY poor sense off smell....and it will not effect the way that the parents interact with the eaglets in any way at all. It is very common for younger eaglets to be taken from the nest or rescued after a fall, for some reason, and then returned to the nest and the parents will pick right back up where they were, taking care of their family.
There were a lot of gnats, but the eaglets didn't really fledge much earlier than usual. The extremely inclement weather following fledge may have been a bigger factor in this year's difficult season.
The eaglet with the broken wing was found in the vicinity of the horse barn, although I don't have exact details.
Trying to confirm a transmitter with Bob. He seems to be a little busy today! :)
SOAR will look at the severity of its injuries and go from there.
From Ustream chat:
4:15 Decorahian1: Hi... ALL just back from Hatchery Area ! of the P's was on top of Maple watchin the Juvie on wood pile, Juvie is just chillin-out from the looks of it & "VERY" healthy + strong just not a good flier yet.
(re: the juvie seen on the woodpile) It was the one released by Bob.
Two (found) so far.
On the ground report from Bob Anderson of Raptor Resoure Project (at about 5:30 p.m.):
Dad just fed the eaglet that Bob released earlier today. A very good sign!
(re: the outlook of the eagle with the broken wing)
We are waiting from SOAR to find out.
For everyone who is wondering what is going on, I will do a post this evening encapsulating everything. (Here is that post from the RRP Blog page):
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=703045679732054&id=103786266324668&fref=nf
An exciting excerpt from the RRP Blog post:
[After watching the eaglet flap in the mews this morning, Bob concluded that she was not only healthy, she was strong enough for a transmitter. The transmittered eaglet was released around 10:30am this morning. She was able to fly to some bricks about 3-1/2 feet off the ground, where she stayed until Dad came to feed her this afternoon. Bob has spent most of the day at the hatchery observing the eagles and talking with visitors. Judging from photos (which we hope to have for you shortly!), we believe this eaglet was D20. We also believe it was a female, since it had a beak depth of 33.7 (32 and above is usually female). Bob and Brett took thorough measurements prior to release.]
The parents have not left the area and Dad was seen feeding the recently released eaglet today. We do not have any information or updates on the third eaglet yet but when we do, I am sure it will be posted.
There are cases where broken wings are corrected or healed and they are able to be released. We don't know the extent of the injuries to this eaglet's wing yet but we'll share information as soon as we know something. I know we're all hoping for the best.
(re: how the E's wing was broken so soon)
We're not sure. It may have crash-landed to the ground or hit a branch at some point. There was flooding in the area, so it could also have had its wing broken if it was carried downstream in the flooding, although we checked the area behind the barn near N1, and the eaglet wasn't there earlier. We are eagerly awaiting Kay's (at SOAR) report. We the eaglet that spent the night in Bob's mews was D20 based on photos, but I don't yet know which eaglet went to Kay.
We believe the one just released is D20. We haven't tried to ID the eaglet being treated at SOAR yet. Getting care for the eaglet is the most important thing right now.
We have not seen the 3rd eaglet since the fledge. We know that Dad has fed D20 there on the hatchery grounds and are assuming that they are also taking care of the 3rd eaglet.
We are all trying to stay in the NWZ, but it's hard! If the eagle's wing can't be saved but it will survive, we'll find a home for it.
This is the first year we've been able to watch the live cam from the new nest, N2, so we don't really know if they "branched" last year. The set up at this nest is much different than the previous nest which had the Y and many branches for the eaglets to practice on before fledge. This new nest and tree does not really offer those same branches for practice so branching is a bit different. Most of their practice was wing flapping, hovering, and climbing the trunk of the tree.
A report from Kay at SOAR on the fledgling from Decorah:
[ SOAR received a juvenile Bald Eagle today. Bob Anderson with the Raptor Resource Project and volunteers retrieved the eagle from a stream near the Decorah, Iowa nest. SOAR volunteer Cynthia helped to transfer the Eagle to SOAR Director Kay Neumann. Kay reports that it feels like there is a humerus fracture very close to the shoulder joint. No compound fracture at least. Tomorrow we will have it xrayed. Hopefully it will just be chipped and not broken all the way through. It's wing is wrapped and it is resting comfortably. It weighs 7.75lbs which is pretty good, she thinks it may be a male. It has been given high calorie fluids. There are a lot of bloodsucking insect bites around both eyes but those should heal fine. Stay tuned for xray report tomorrow!
Thank you everyone for your concern, support, and good wishes! Thank you also for liking our page! ]
At this time, we just do not have all the details. As soon as we do, that information will be posted. Thank you for your patience.
A link to SOAR: http://www.soarraptors.org/
Note:
Many of these posts above appeared as answers to posted questions and are placed here in the order they appeared on the various sites and pages.
Noon CDT
Bob deemed eagle #1 to be in good health. He released it late this morning at the hatchery. He is asking people to stay away and not crowd it.
Another eaglet was found this morning near the horse barn with a broken wing. It is on its way to Kay Neumann's rehab facility. The eaglet is not identified.
We do not know anything more than what is in this post. Time is of the essence to get this eaglet to Soar and get the proper treatment going. We have no idea how severe or simple the break, what the recovery time will be or anything else at this point. We all need just need to remain as positive and supportive as we can.
After watching the eaglet he was holding, Bob determined it could fly. He thought it might have been weak from a lack of food (he fed it last night and this morning prior to release).
The one photo we have now is not enough for us to make a positive ID. Maybe one will surface later, but Bob has been in full scramble mode for roughly the past 24 hours.
We don't have any information on the 3rd eaglet yet but will update if we know anything. If the eaglets were scattered and, as we know, one was injured, the parent may have had a difficult time keeping an eye on all 3.
We don't have any information as to why they didn't return to the nest or what happened after fledge, but they all fledged within the normal time frame.
We are all learning together this year, N2 is different than N1,as far as branching, etc....we don't know what the effect has been on the learning curve for the eaglets, we just have to watch and wait .As Bob tells us...Trust Nature...Trust the Eagles!!!
(re: treating the nest for gnats)
We tried treating the box at Great Spirit Bluff when we were down banding and it didn't last very long. (We) don't know that there are good options for safely treating the nest for long periods of time given gnat life cycles and hatch timing.
(re: The fledgling with the broken wing who is now being treated at SOAR)
We'll have to wait and see what Kay at SOAR says.
They didn't fledge that much earlier than they normally do, although it seemed rather abrupt. Bob returned the eagle he held overnight to the grounds of the hatchery this morning, where Mom and Dad will be able to find it. That eaglet has an excellent chance. Kay has a long history of rehabbing bald eagles - it was one of the reasons we went to her when Bob was called about a lead-poisoned eagle a year or two ago. If the eaglet can be saved, she'll rehab and return it.
The gnats were a nuisance but all 3 eaglets fledged in the normal time frame. We do not have any information on what happened after they fledged or what could have caused the injuries to the eaglet that has been sent to SOAR. We'll update as we know more.
(re: the location of Parents and the third eaglet)
Yes, Mom and Dad have been spotted around the nest area but no, the third one has not yet been found.
In past seasons, people on the ground have observed eaglets learning from their parents and being fed by the parents. One year, Mom and Dad would bring food drops to a huge pile of mulch that was near the Hatchery with three hungry juveniles perched on top.
The parents' behavior was pretty normal. When the eaglets reach the food drop stage, we don't see the parents in the nest quite as often, although they are still there in the background.
It is perfectly natural for the parents to not be at the nest nearly as much, as the eaglets approach fledge. The main reason I WOULD stay away if I were the parent is the way they are attacked anytime they come in!!! I timed it one day and Dad only stayed on the nest for a grand total of two seconds per food drop, that is a tricky place to be when you are trying to avoid 3 grabbing eaglets beaks!!!! They have never gone hungry, with the abundant supply of fish from the hatchery down the road, food has NEVER been an issue at this nest!!!! Many times Mom or Dad would show up with food and one or all of the eaglets couldn't be convinced to come eat!!!
It is a old OLD wives' tail that once a human touches a bird that the parents will reject it!! Eagles have a VERY poor sense off smell....and it will not effect the way that the parents interact with the eaglets in any way at all. It is very common for younger eaglets to be taken from the nest or rescued after a fall, for some reason, and then returned to the nest and the parents will pick right back up where they were, taking care of their family.
There were a lot of gnats, but the eaglets didn't really fledge much earlier than usual. The extremely inclement weather following fledge may have been a bigger factor in this year's difficult season.
The eaglet with the broken wing was found in the vicinity of the horse barn, although I don't have exact details.
Trying to confirm a transmitter with Bob. He seems to be a little busy today! :)
SOAR will look at the severity of its injuries and go from there.
From Ustream chat:
4:15 Decorahian1: Hi... ALL just back from Hatchery Area ! of the P's was on top of Maple watchin the Juvie on wood pile, Juvie is just chillin-out from the looks of it & "VERY" healthy + strong just not a good flier yet.
(re: the juvie seen on the woodpile) It was the one released by Bob.
Two (found) so far.
On the ground report from Bob Anderson of Raptor Resoure Project (at about 5:30 p.m.):
Dad just fed the eaglet that Bob released earlier today. A very good sign!
(re: the outlook of the eagle with the broken wing)
We are waiting from SOAR to find out.
For everyone who is wondering what is going on, I will do a post this evening encapsulating everything. (Here is that post from the RRP Blog page):
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=703045679732054&id=103786266324668&fref=nf
An exciting excerpt from the RRP Blog post:
[After watching the eaglet flap in the mews this morning, Bob concluded that she was not only healthy, she was strong enough for a transmitter. The transmittered eaglet was released around 10:30am this morning. She was able to fly to some bricks about 3-1/2 feet off the ground, where she stayed until Dad came to feed her this afternoon. Bob has spent most of the day at the hatchery observing the eagles and talking with visitors. Judging from photos (which we hope to have for you shortly!), we believe this eaglet was D20. We also believe it was a female, since it had a beak depth of 33.7 (32 and above is usually female). Bob and Brett took thorough measurements prior to release.]
The parents have not left the area and Dad was seen feeding the recently released eaglet today. We do not have any information or updates on the third eaglet yet but when we do, I am sure it will be posted.
There are cases where broken wings are corrected or healed and they are able to be released. We don't know the extent of the injuries to this eaglet's wing yet but we'll share information as soon as we know something. I know we're all hoping for the best.
(re: how the E's wing was broken so soon)
We're not sure. It may have crash-landed to the ground or hit a branch at some point. There was flooding in the area, so it could also have had its wing broken if it was carried downstream in the flooding, although we checked the area behind the barn near N1, and the eaglet wasn't there earlier. We are eagerly awaiting Kay's (at SOAR) report. We the eaglet that spent the night in Bob's mews was D20 based on photos, but I don't yet know which eaglet went to Kay.
We believe the one just released is D20. We haven't tried to ID the eaglet being treated at SOAR yet. Getting care for the eaglet is the most important thing right now.
We have not seen the 3rd eaglet since the fledge. We know that Dad has fed D20 there on the hatchery grounds and are assuming that they are also taking care of the 3rd eaglet.
We are all trying to stay in the NWZ, but it's hard! If the eagle's wing can't be saved but it will survive, we'll find a home for it.
This is the first year we've been able to watch the live cam from the new nest, N2, so we don't really know if they "branched" last year. The set up at this nest is much different than the previous nest which had the Y and many branches for the eaglets to practice on before fledge. This new nest and tree does not really offer those same branches for practice so branching is a bit different. Most of their practice was wing flapping, hovering, and climbing the trunk of the tree.
A report from Kay at SOAR on the fledgling from Decorah:
[ SOAR received a juvenile Bald Eagle today. Bob Anderson with the Raptor Resource Project and volunteers retrieved the eagle from a stream near the Decorah, Iowa nest. SOAR volunteer Cynthia helped to transfer the Eagle to SOAR Director Kay Neumann. Kay reports that it feels like there is a humerus fracture very close to the shoulder joint. No compound fracture at least. Tomorrow we will have it xrayed. Hopefully it will just be chipped and not broken all the way through. It's wing is wrapped and it is resting comfortably. It weighs 7.75lbs which is pretty good, she thinks it may be a male. It has been given high calorie fluids. There are a lot of bloodsucking insect bites around both eyes but those should heal fine. Stay tuned for xray report tomorrow!
Thank you everyone for your concern, support, and good wishes! Thank you also for liking our page! ]
At this time, we just do not have all the details. As soon as we do, that information will be posted. Thank you for your patience.
A link to SOAR: http://www.soarraptors.org/
Note:
Many of these posts above appeared as answers to posted questions and are placed here in the order they appeared on the various sites and pages.