Update On the Birds

In case you haven't had a chance to visit the sites recently, Here's the latest.


The two little eaglets in the Hornby Island nest are doing great. The one that hatched so much earlier is, obviously, much larger, but doesn't seem to be bullying its brother/sister. The parents are very attentive. All is well on that front. the chicks are active and noisy.


In Sidney, the three little ones can hardly be called "chicks" any longer. They are all very large. The two first hatched are really immense! They aren't pretty any more, but awkward and gangly and all over one another. Their beaks have developed quite a bit. They are eating for themselves much of the time, although the parents do still feed them some.


The third eagle's nest, Delta, is the one in which the two eggs were left alone much of the time. We rarely saw the adult pair. Eventually even the eggs disappeared. However, the cameras there seem to have been moved to a new site. It is a very small nest. I do not know if there are any eggs, but an eagle is sitting on it each time I go there. It is possible that it is an immature pair and there are no eggs, or perhaps there are but we haven't spotted any yet. It is not the large, carefully put together sort of nest we usually see. We just don't know.


The red tailed hawk nest in Philadelphia seems to be doing fine. I don't have a picture today because the camera was not operating. Those three chicks have grown very big and are usually very active. When they are sleeping, the adults often leave them alone now, but come back to feed them regularly. I get the impression that camera may be running only during business hours at the Franklin Institute, where the nest is located on a ledge.