Sorry to say it looks like we are down to 2 chicks as of 2/25/2021

[Rockitglider]

I visited the nest today and didn't see the third chick, I watched and filmed (Video & Pictures) of them being fed and only 2 chicks eating. So I guess something happened but I don't know what. There is a huge amout of flies on the 2 remaining chicks, I don't know if this is normal, but I will try to find out. It shows them it my pictures and video, I still haven't processed them but I can tell by seeing them in the camera. I think maybe the dead chick chick might be in the nest? Just a guess really not sure, but I have never seen that many flies in all the time watching them, a chick will move and the flies will fly swarm around the nest and land right back on the chicks as they sleep. Kinda hard to see it, I think it must bother them, but again, I don't know much at this time. I'll do some checking.

Maybe you can chime in NewMexiken (Ken) and let us know what you think. You know a lot more than me of these behaviors and have many more years than us? Thanks,

[naturegirl]

Oh no that is terrible sad news. They might be black flies which have been known to kill eaglets.  If it's possible to see what flies are in the nest area maybe an ID of them would help. Here is an article about the flies killing eaglets which is not uncommon (this was in Ilinois). Wonder if the eaglets can be taken to rehab so they don't end up bitten to death by the flies ? http://tworiversoutdoors.com/buffalo-gnats-suspected-in-eaglets-death-p1580-90.htm

[Rockitglider]

thanks for the info I'll ask the eagle watch people.

[naturegirl]

Darn because last week all 3 looked active and healthy. I wonder if the dead eaglet just needs to be removed from the nest ?

[Rockitglider]

That sounds terrible, I'm looking at the pictures now and I'll let you know what I find and I'll post a link to the video it going to be limited to just the fly shots.

[Stephanie5056]

Hi. I drove by today but I didn’t have time to stop. I’m gonna stop tomorrow. It didn’t happen in the nest but I forget where either last year or the year before were an eagle did die from being bitten from flies. Nature can be very cruel sometimes anyway I’m just not gonna think about it and enjoy the ones that we see

On Fri, Feb 26, 2021 at 9:15 PM Rockitglider [via Bald Eagles of Broward County, Florida] <[hidden email]> wrote:

That sounds terrible, I'm looking at the pictures now and I'll let you know what I find and I'll post a link to the video it going to be limited to just the fly shots.

Rockitglider
AKA: Kit O.
Nature Photographer, Model rocket builder, designer and flyer
Remote Control Gliders & Rocket powered Gliders as a hobby,
AUTOCAD engineer professionally for Fire Alarm Systems in Ft. Lauderdale Itnl. Airport (FLL) & PBIA as well.
Website: http://img.gg/a7WNYUF

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[Stylechick60]

Oh that is so sad to hear.  😢

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 26, 2021, at 8:40 PM, naturegirl [via Bald Eagles of Broward County, Florida] <[hidden email]> wrote:

 Darn because last week all 3 looked active and healthy. I wonder if the dead eaglet just needs to be removed from the nest ?

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[Rockitglider]

This is sad to look at so don't use the link if you don't want to see the shots, These chicks are not perished, but I don't know if they are okay, I have posted a message on the eagle watch FB page to find out what I can. They were eating today but one of them didn't eat much in my opinion. BTW: I did the still shots instead of the video because I couldn't zoom in enough with the video.

http://img.gg/CWh9P9s

[naturegirl]

OMG that is terrible. Could they be bees or wasps ? Who took the eaglet back in 2015 (I think) when the nest fell and one chick died but the other went to rehab. Was that fwc or eagle watch or busch sanctuary ?

[naturegirl]

From the pics I took yesterday I don't see any flies so I wonder if the #3 eaglet has just died and the flies have only been there since today ?

[Rockitglider]

That's what I'm thinking too, because the article you linked says that the Black flies are actually Knats and are small, these look pretty big. I do think they are doing damage though, because the picture 1516 shows redness or inflammation under it's wing where it's being bitten by the flies.

[naturegirl]

it may not be gnats but there are dozens of fly species perhaps these are most attracted to a dead animal ? I guess the flies are only targeting the eaglets not the adults ? i think blow flies are found around dead animals  

[Rockitglider]

Well, whatever they are if they are biting this chick, I hope The Eagle Watch will know what to do. One person that responded said she doesn't know if much can be done but to keep an eye on the chick. I will be going there over the weekend to check it out.

[naturegirl]

Something can be done the ft myers eaglets had some type of infection and were removed from the nest, treated and renested after a few days. This was on the west coast just happened last week or so. The eaglets can be removed to save them

[NewMexiKen]

Sorry but I just got to the computer this morning. I have seen swarms  of flies on the eagle nests several times but generally assumed they were attracted to prey remains.

Sometimes Turkey Vultures circle very close to the nest as they have such a strong sense of smell.

I do not think we have Black Flies down here but there are other biting insects. They can cause stress and the youngest of the three eaglets starts out life with a great challenge, especially if it is a female as they tend not to be as submissive as a third male eaglet might be. Shawnlei may have some experience and thoughts or advice about this (copying her).

I found an interesting article here and will quote a segment:

https://journeynorth.org/tm/eagle/NestAbout.html

"Fresh Fish Deliveries Attract Flies to Nest
Adult eagles obviously bring in a lot of fish for the 3 months their young are in the nest, and that can be quite an attraction to flies and other insects! It can also create quite a smell ! Occasionally, insect loads are so bad up in a nest, that a chick or two may die, due to stress and simply being bitten to death; I've seen this with black flies in our Adirondack region where bugs and insects are intense (I would imagine many parts of interior Canada are the same). Eagles might get some relief from this, by putting their nests up very high, and thus keeping up and away from insects as well as benefiting from more regular breezes, which act to keep bugs down. To help keep nests clean, eagles continuously add fresh vegetation to their nest, covering up old food. I have yet to see them actually "clean-up" their nest, however, by removing old fish scraps. Some nests get pretty gross with old, maggot-filled fish parts stuck in the sticks of the nest, baking in the hot sun! Eagles often build "alternate" nests, within their territory near their other nest, likely in an attempt to let one nest sit unused for a year or two, to allow it to "weather" and clean itself out..."