January 26, 2010 - 5:03pm to 5:46

[vdelauz]

I was finally able to stop by and observe the eagles this evening on my way home from work. I arrived at 5:03pm and parked at the paved area between the maleleucas and the traffic signal. There were no eagles roosting on the maleleucas, so I walked towards the nest area. Upon arriving at the nest area, I observed the female standing on the edge of the nest looking down into the nest. From the bobbing up and down of her head, I realized that she was feeding her young, however many she may have in the nest. I could not verify what she was feeding them, but it either wasn't that much or I arrived at the end of the feeding because a minute later she settled back into the nest. Oddly enough, she sat low in the nest, to the point where no brown was showing and very little of her white head was showing. Could it be that she's sitting higher on her young eaglet, but they have built up the edges of the nest to the point where she actually looks like she's sitting lower? I'm not certain, but I have read posts where observers have seen the eagles carrying sticks back to the nest, so it's definitely something to consider. Personally, it is my opinion that the view to the nest this year is not as "open" as it was last year, which leads me to believe that they have added a lot of material to it. Either way, almost as soon as she settled into the nest, the male flew in from the east, looped high in the sky over the nest area and disappeared to the south. She stayed in the nest and barely moved for the next 24 minutes, with the exception of one directional adjustment. At 5:28, the male showed up again. He flew in from the east, but this time, he swooped down very quickly towards the Australian Pine tree where the nest is, chirped at the female very loudly, then proceeded to do something I didn't expect. He flew right at the tree to the west of the nest, turned sideways and, in full flight, grabbed a tall, bare branch and snapped it clean off of the tree. Although I believe its intent was to fly away with it, the branch broke too low and, due to what looked to be a combination of too much weight and too long of a length, it fell out of the male's grasp. As the branch fell, it made lots of loud noise as it bounced off of the lower branches and fell to the ground. The two folks that were observing next to me were as amazed as I was at what we had just witnessed. Immediately after his failed attempt to carry the branch, he flew back towards the nest from the west and landed on the edge of the nest. The male and female exchanged loud chirps and the female immediately left the nest and flew westbound towards the maleleucas. The male then proceeded to do the same thing that the female was doing when I first arrived there. He was bobbing his head up and down into the nest as if he was feeding his young. What was he feeding and when did he get it? I did not see him carrying anything in his beak or his claws as he flew in, so I am assuming that the food item was either very small or maybe it was food that was being regurgitated? I don't know the answer, so this is pure speculation on my behalf. After finishing his short feeding time, he quickly settled low into the nest and remained motionless. Since daylight was fading away, I decided to walk back to my truck and leave, but I first wanted to see if the female had stopped at the maleleucas. Fortunately, she had, so I watched her roosting atop the maleleuca while preening herself for 14 minutes. Once finished, she flew east towards the nest, but I did not confirm whether she actually went to the nest at that point because I got back into my truck and left.

Questions that I have after this observation:

Is the nest's edge higher, making the overall depth of the nest deeper?

What is the significance of the male eagle's high speed fly-by of the nest, loud chirp over the nest, followed by the high speed takedown of that large branch?

Do eagles only carry their prey in their beaks or their claws or is it possible that they sometimes eat their prey elsewhere and regurgitate small, manageable pieces for their newborn young?

Here are a few pics of today's observation...

Male Eagle In Flight


Male Eagle Feeding Eaglet(s)


Female Eagle Roosting On Maleleuca


Enjoy!

[NewMexiKen]

Wonderful narrative and tremendous photos, Victor! The evening light seemed just right.

To my knowledge, eagles are not known to regurgitate food for the young. They sometimes "butcher" prey on a tree in their territory, and bring in small scraps when the chicks are very small. They also cache prey in the nest, and may just tear off bits to feed the eaglets.

We have seen the eagles break off branches as you observed-- they speed up to create more force. I guess the bird just got more lumber than he bargained for!

We thought the nest rim was higher than last season, especially on the left side. Alternatively, the cup may be placed farther back and to the left, reducing visibility when the bird assumes certain positions, or a combination of these factors.

The second egg, if there is one, should be hatching, as it is usually 3-5 days behind the first. There could be a third as well. The bird must incubate as well as brood the chick(s), so it will settle down and try to do both. Our impression of the brooding bird sitting higher up does not hold true 100% of the time. It probably depends partially upon the position of the chick under the adult. They are very careful not to injure the eaglets or damage the eggs, keeping their talons closed into a "fist" while walking on the nest.

Thanks again, and especially, thank you for all your work with the students' observation form.

[vdelauz]

Ken,

Thank you for the praise! As usual, when shooting with a short lens and a teleconverter, plus the additional cropping, the quality of the image suffers. Since the purpose of these images is to add to the project, then quality is not the main concern, so I'm okay with the overall look. I hope to be able to afford a long lens one day so that we can all enjoy a little more detail and clarity in the images I post.

I'm glad to see that you've experienced the eagle breaking off the branches. It did not look normal to me, especially since, as you've stated, he "got more lumber than he bargained for!" <---GREAT QUOTE

I also agree with the depth of the nest and the visibility factors being different than last year. If a deeper nest means a safer chick or chicks, then that's a very good thing. After all, the eagles are parents who are caring for their young, not contractors that are building a nest for us observers to get a better look.

As for the feeding of the prey to their young, that has to be the answer to my question, especially since they supposedly don't regurgitate their food. As I read your explanation, I realized that this was the information I was missing. They must be caching their food in the nest because, as I observed, neither of the eagles brought food with them (that I could see with my eyes or with the images I took), but they definitely were feeding as they stood on the edge of the nest.

Thank you for your detailed explanations. I'm learning something new everyday!!!