Tuesday, February 23, 2010

February in Maine!


Hi All,
I apologize for not posting sooner. Frankly, I am not sure what happened to my other recent posts from this year. More important is the fantastic activity that we have been seeing at this nest. It is clear that a pair is settling in to nest here this year. The birds have been very active adding sticks to the nest and moving them around to get them into position to create an intertwined and stable platform.

Over just the past few days they appear to be adding 'softer materials to line the nest bowl. Notably, just today the female was observed excavating a small bowl in the finer materials and then, later, settling into an incubation position. All of these are fantastic signs that these eagles are eager to nest. Last year eagles at this nest--likely the same pair--laid eggs on April 1 and April 3. That said, eagles in Maine may lay eggs as early as early March.

These photos two photos show the progress that the birds have made over the past month the initial image is from 1/25/10 and the second from just this afternoon 2/23/10.


It will be interesting to see how these birds behave as the anticipated storm passes through later this week.

Many thanks for all of you posts and questions. Please keep them coming! It looks as though we have a great deal to look forward to this season.

Until Next Time,
Patrick Keenan
BioDiversity Research Institute

10 comments:

  1. There are definately more than one pair visiting this nest - I just hope that the original pair can keep this second pair away from the nest. (lower image - view of branches)

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  2. Can you perhaps darken up the view a bit - the image has been quite faded the last few days? Thanks in advance.

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  3. When will the bottom cam be fixed? View of branches for about a week now.

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  4. Two adults on nest arranging sticks. Sure will be glad when the bottom cam is aimed properly again. Has anyone seen any mating activity? March 7, 2010 5:40 PM

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  5. The timer is still off by 3 hours. Can it be fixed?

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  6. 3/8/10
    FYI: EGG #1 WAS LAID AT ABOUT 4:10PM TODAY!!!!!
    Sue in MD

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  7. First egg - Maine Cam2

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  8. 3/09/10 7:22a.m. eastern
    Both adult eagles at the nest. One in the nest bowl, the other out on the limb.

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  9. An eagle in the nest bowl and looks like settled in for the night.

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  10. Thanks so much for all your comments this is very exciting. Unfortunately, our second camera was damaged in the severe windstorm two weeks ago. We will be unable to repair this due to the nesting activity of the birds.

    I am fairly confident that a single pair is resident at this territory. I would be interested in evidence of a second pair attempting to nest. Of course it is possible for other eagles to visit the nest briefly--especially younger eagles or eagles that do not have a nest of their own. However, territorial pairs do not generally tolerate the presence of other pairs or individuals. Thanks for the great comments and questions. Please keep in touch.
    Best,
    Patrick Keenan
    BioDiversity Research Institute

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