Incubation duties switch again DEC 19 at 10:00 AM; check tail feathers

[NewMexiKen]

We once again witnessed an exchange of incubation duties. This time it was the male on the nest, at about 9:30 AM



The female flew in from the right side a little after 10:00 AM. Note her tail feathers. Are they ragged and dark at the tips? One observer had photos that appeared to show an adult missing its tail on December 16th.



The male quickly got up and flew to roost on the pine along the road just left (east) of the nest.





After only a minute or so he flew off to the east and then south.

[NewMexiKen]

All is well with the eagle's tail. The power of suggestion caused me to misinterpret the tail feathers as damaged when actually I was looking at them from the lateral aspect, when they would appear thin and irregular.

Dick Evans of Michigan, who took the photos which appeared to show an adult eagle missing a tail has reviewed them. He said "When I lightened them up, I discovered it has a tail...very short one."

This was one of Dick's photos taken Sunday, DEC 15:


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He took this one yesterday DEC 19 when we met at the nest site.

 
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In some postures, the primary wing feathers of eagles actually extend out beyond the tip of their tails. Also, the white-on-white effect against a bright cloudy sky has sometimes made me think I had photographed a tail-less (and headless) eagle!

Photos property of Dick Evans and used with permisssion.