"Chuck Wagon" for eaglets

[NewMexiKen]

In today's blog, "Chuck Wagon for Bald Eaglets," I reflect on some of the insights we have gained as we watch the nest. The books don't cover all we can learn about them.

Ken

[Trisha]

Thanks for sharing those great insights, Ken. I too have been trying to figure out the whole feeding situation in light of the observations of our eagles. Have you ever read any details of how the parents teach the young to hunt for their own food? Ours sure look pretty fat and sassy coming back to the nest and waiting for a take out delivery. With so many reports of eagles being seen all around, I hope someone will catch the education taking place.

[NewMexiKen]

 From what I have read about the eagles, they do not "teach" their young
to hunt in the same way as do wolves and lions, whose young have a very
long period of dependence upon their parents. Rather, they begin to
follow their parents, beg for food, and then the hunting instinct takes
over. They get better with age, and as a result they depend more on
"easy" food sources when young-- roadkill, carrion, garbage, etc, which
exposes them to risks of vehicle collisions and poisoning.

If others have information and insights, they should chime in as well.

Ken

Ken Schneider
Miramar, Florida & North Aurora, Illinois

Web site: http://www.rosyfinch.com
Eagle Nest: http://www.rosyfinch.com/BaldEagleNest.html
Blog: http://blog.rosyfinch.com
Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/rosyfinch 

"Openness to the natural world and our response to it lie at the core of what we do and why we do it." (Fr. Tom Pincelli)



Trisha (via Nabble) wrote:

> Thanks for sharing those great insights, Ken. I too have been trying
> to figure out the whole feeding situation in light of the observations
> of our eagles. Have you ever read any details of how the parents teach
> the young to hunt for their own food? Ours sure look pretty fat and
> sassy coming back to the nest and waiting for a take out delivery.
> With so many reports of eagles being seen all around, I hope someone
> will catch the education taking place.
>
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[AquaLou]

Your Chuck Wagon comments provided very interesting insight into the behavior of the eagles we have observed these last couple of months, versus the widely available "accepted" information in print.  Thanks for your informative piece.  
BTW, I was out early this morning from 7 am to 9:45 am.  The fog was so dense early on that the eagle nest was barely discernible, and the traffic light to the east was not at all visible.  By 7:30 am, the sun had burned away most of the fog and I found the nest to be empty.  No eagles came into view until near 8:30 am, at which time I captured a few video clips.  They have been uploaded to YouTube at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jG5GwXlO8o.

The video shows a couple of interesting exchanges you may want to check out.  I was very surprised when an adult (female I believe) challenged her incoming mate and looked very menacing for the first few seconds.  And on another clip, one of the juveniles few in and with lots of wing contact upended an adult who then flew to a bare branch above the nest and watched as the second juvenile flew in.  It was a very entertaining morning.
Lou