eaglenest.blogs.wm.eduCCB Eagle Nest Blog - The Center for Conservation Biology brings you closer to eagles, to learn abou

CCB Eagle Nest Blog The Center for Conservation Biology brings you closer to eagles, to learn about their behavior and biology. about CCB about Eagle Nest blog Posted by: rlukei | 2014/07/16 New Web Site July 16, 2014 You will now find eaglenest on the Center for Conservation Biology (CCB) web site below: www.ccbbirds.org/news-room/blogs/eagle-nest-blog/ Please update your browser’s bookmarks. Comments Off on New Web Site July 16, 2014 Categories: At the nest Posted by: rlukei | 2014/06/09 Sibling of Bald Eagle MR Fledges June 9 2014 One of the three nestlings in the bald eagle nest in Virginia Beach has fledged as of June 9, 2014. The sibling of “MR” was seen today soaring with its parents over the Lynnhaven River at Witchduck. This photo was taken by Woody Stephens. I visited the nest site this morning and found “MR” and one sibling in the nest tree. I could not find the third eaglet. Thanks to Woody Stephens we now know why. The other sibling is now a fledgling. Here is “MR” looking at me over her shoulder this morning. Here is the sibling still in the nest tree this morning. 5 Comments Categories: At the nest Eagle Nest Blog Posted by: rlukei | 2014/05/29 Bald Eagle with PURPLE Band “ND” – Update PURPLE banded bald eagle “ND” is the sibling of Camellia, the bald eagle with a satellite transmitter and banded “NC”. The third eaglet from the Norfolk Botanical Garden nest was banded “NE”. All three have been sighted since they fledged from their nest in May 2010. The travels of Camellia (NC) are recorded on The Center for Conservation Biology web site http://eagletrak.blogs.wm.edu . NE has been seen in the past at Honey Bee Golf Course in Virginia Beach. ND was photographed on Jan 16, 2011 at Newport News Park by Robin Buhl. Her photo of ND is below. Thank you Robin. ND was photographed at Lake Tecumseh in the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach by Mike Bivens on May 8, 2014. We appreciate his giving permission to publish his photo below. A brief history of ND: Egg laid Feb 3, 2010 Hatched March 13, 2010 Banded May 5, 2010 Fledged May 29, 2010 This is a photo of all three chicks NC, ND, NE on March 22, 2010 from the Norfolk Botanical Garden live web cam This is ND on June 2, 2010 sitting on a branch of his nest tree after he had fledged. Photo by Robin Buhl Jan 16, 2011 at Newport News Park 9 Comments Categories: At the nest Eagle Nest Blog Posted by: rlukei | 2014/05/29 Help Select at Name for Bald Eagle Banded MR Photo – Reese F Lukei Jr You can assist The Center for Conservation Biology to select a name for the female juvenile bald eagle recently fitted in Virginia Beach with PURPLE band “ MR ” and a satellite transmitter. Visit the CCB web site link below to submit your name. http://www.ccbbirds.org/what-we-do/research/species-of-concern/virginia-eagles/eagletrak/ Comments Off on Help Select at Name for Bald Eagle Banded MR Categories: At the nest Eagle Nest Blog Posted by: rlukei | 2014/03/26 Dr. Mitchell A. Byrd – Bald Eagle Recovery Read about the recovery of the American Bald Eagle and the role of Dr. Mitchell A.Byrd on the science web site Live Science at the link below. http://www.livescience.com/44373-bald-eagle-populations-soaring.html 1 Comment Categories: At the nest Eagle Nest Blog Posted by: rlukei | 2014/02/28 Urbanized Bald Eagle A small portion of the population of bald eagles, perhaps 5 percent, are considered to have habitated to our human environment with all its sounds and activities. Donald and Lillian Stokes in their book A Guide To Bird Behavior Volume III write “Unlike the Osprey, which tolerates human presence, the bald eagle demands more isolation from human activity”. Dr. Paul A. Johnsgard in his book Hawks, Eagles & Falcons of North America states “freedom from human disturbance is usually an important but highly variable factor”. These days the word “variable” is key. The portion of the bald eagle population that has become “urbanized” is expanding. The bald eagle nestlings that are growing up in nests in peoples backyards, public parks, golf courses and other human occupied locations peer out of their nests viewing all our human activities and the sounds we make. When they fledge from their nests they are acclimated to these sounds, sights, and noises and do not shy away from our human locations. Take for example the bald eagle named Camellia who was fitted with a satellite transmitter at his nest at Norfolk Botanical Garden and fledged May 27, 2010. Camellia has spent the vast majority of his time since then in human occupied areas like residential neighborhoods and golf courses – where Camellia is now in Virginia Beach, VA ( http://eagletrak.blogs.wm.edu ). On Feburary 27, 2014, I was driving toward the Honey Bee Golf Course in Virginia Beach to check on another Norfolk Botanical Garden raised bald eagle named HK, because of the purple band on his left leg. HK has built a nest on the golf course. The nest tree is less than 100 feet from a private house and 20 feet from a public road. Before I got to the golf course I saw yet another sign that bald eagles have habituated to our human environment – a bald eagle sitting atop a highway light over South Independence Blvd at the entrance to a Target store. I did a u-turn, pulled into a parking space and took the attached photographs as the bald eagle sat there for another 15 minutes with cars, trucks, motorcycles and school busses passing directly below. Photographs copyright Reese F Lukei Jr 13 Comments Categories: At the nest Eagle Nest Blog Posted by: rlukei | 2014/01/10 Purple Banded Bald Eagle KS at Honey Bee Jan 9, 2014 So, just who is purple banded bald eagle KS? She hatched in a nest in the Thoroughgood neighborhood in Virginia Beach in March 2011 and fledged the first couple days of June 2011. On June 4 she was sitting on the ground about two blocks from her nest and it was assumed by a neighbor that she was injured and she called for rescuers. The juvenile flew into a patch of woods but was captured by these “rescuers”. Fortunately for the young eagle Lisa Barlow, a licensed wildlife rehabilator, arrived and took the eagle away from the rescuers. The eagle was taken to a veterinarian with wildlife experience who found a couple minor injuries, but none that would prohibit release of the eagle. On June 5 the eagle was banded with purple band KS and and released at a large open athletic field near its nest. The juvenile however, had undetected injuries that would not allow the eagle to gain elevation. Lisa was to keep the eagle for a few more days to give it time to recover from its capture and attempted release. A few days later its tail feathers began to fall out and the eagle was transferred to the Wildlife Center of Virginia. By late August new tail feathers had grown in and it was determined by WCV staff that it was time for the eagle to be released. On August 30, 2011 KS and Norfolk Botanical Garden eagle with purple band NX were transported to Berkeley Plantation on the James River and successfully released. NX is heard from on a regular basis because she is wearing a transmitter and her movements are reported on the WCV web site ( www.wildlifecenter.org ). However, nothing has been seen or heard from KS until yesterday January 9, 2014 when she was located perched on a transmission tower next to purple banded HK who is from the 2009 nest at Norfolk Botanical Garden, and who has built a nest on Honey Bee Golf Course about 3 blocks from the transmission tower. The three attached photos of KS were taken by Beverly Nettleton whose sharp eyes spotted her on the transmission tower. Photo of KS on fence just prior to her attempted release by Reese F Lukei Jr. All photos are copyright of the photographer. 14 Comments Categories: At the nest Eagle Nest Blog Posted by: rlukei | 2013/12/24 Botswana Research Projects – Vultures and Wild Dogs During late November and early December I traveled to Botswana in southern Africa to see for myself some of the amazing wildli...