Sat., March 17, 2018 - Eaglet moving in the nest; no parents.

[tczig]

I was at the nest today (Sat., 3/17/18) around 1:00 p.m.  The eaglet was very visible sitting on the left side of the nest (in the nest, not on the edge).  She was moving around, but not flapping or walking around the nest – she was just looking around.  She didn’t make any noise.  I didn’t see either of the parents anywhere around (I looked).  I stayed about half an hour.

I went back around 3:00 p.m.  This time, the eaglet was on the right side of the nest, but she started flapping and walked over to the left side.  Then, she just sat there looking up and all around.  Again, I didn’t see either of the parents.  I didn’t hear her make any noise either time I was there.

I am curious as to how it was determined this eagle was a female?

[NewMexiKen]

Beautiful photos! Also a good question about the eaglet's gender--

The supposition that "P Piney 19" is a female eaglet is based upon the probability (3:1 or even as high as 9 out of 10) that it was the first-hatched of the brood. If, as we believe, there was a second eaglet which subsequently disappeared it could have been another female, as two females can be very aggressive towards one another. If she had been the second-hatched, then the first may well have been a male which would be at a great disadvantage because the female quickly outgrows and out-competes him. We cannot be certain but ground observations pretty well pinpointed the laying of the first egg and the hatching date, which was 34 days later. On average, Bald Eagle eggs take 35 days to hatch.  See this article:

"By examining the effects of sex, growth, and hatching asynchrony on the relative size of sibling bald eagles, I show that the probability of brood reduction is not equal among broods of different sex composition. The hatching sequence of male first and female second was predicted to have the greatest chance of experiencing nestling mortality. This type of brood is rare in bald eagles because there is a sex-dependent hatching sequence whereby the first egg in mixed-sex clutches is predominantly female (93%)"

Influence of Sibling Competition on Nestling Sex Ratios of Sexually Dimorphic Birds

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/284498

[tczig]

Ken, thank you for your detailed response; I appreciate it.  Unless it's a red cardinal, I am not good at identifying the gender of the birds.  With the eagles, I always play it safe saying "the parent."

The eaglet must have just been fed when I was there Saturday.  She was very quiet, but active in the nest.  She wasn't crying for the parents to come feed her.  This is the first time I have been that I didn't see at least one of the parents in the trees, or near the nest, or flying above.  They were no were to be found.

Thanks again!  I appreciate the explanation.  Julie

[Mike Fossler]

I could be wrong, but it certainly looks like there's an adult in your first two photos on the branch right of the nest?

[tczig]

GOOD EYE, MIKE!!!!  Better than mine, that's for sure!!!      I stood there 1/2 an hour and never saw that parent!  I even scanned the trees for an adult.  I never even saw it standing right there in front of me.  But, you are right - adult is in the photo.  I had cropped it, but it is clearly in the original photo.  Thanks for catching that.  I was wondering why the adults weren't anywhere around the eaglet!

Here's the full photo.  Adult is hidden, but definitely there!

[tczig]

You are TOTALLY right, Mike.  The adult IS in the photo and I didn't even see it (I had cropped most of it out!!)  I reposed the full pic and you can see it there.  I need to get my eyes checked!!  Thanks!

Julie

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Fossler [via Bald Eagles of Broward County, Florida] <[hidden email]>
To: tczig <[hidden email]>
Sent: Mon, Mar 19, 2018 6:47 pm
Subject: Re: Sat., March 17, 2018 - Eaglet moving in the nest; no parents.

I could be wrong, but it certainly looks like there's an adult in your first two photos on the branch right of the nest?

---

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