Live from the eagle's nest

[The Infidel]

The nestcam is back, now with sound.

The osprey couple from last year is back, but another couple also claims the nest. Who will win the right to it? Time will show.

[The Infidel]

The original couple won and there's 3 eggs in the nest. It's all routine now. Male hunts fish, gives fish to female. Female flies away to eat while male keep the eggs warm. Female return after a while and they swap. Male goes hunting. Repeat.

[The Infidel]

Two eaglets have hatched! Hopefully, both will survive into adulthood.

[LadyTevar]

A local nest had a tragedy happen.

Mother was injured somehow, had a massive hole in her hip but she'd made it back to the nest and the babies, which were not yet fledglings. A photographer who'd been following the family realized Mom was dead, the babies in trouble, and Dad wasn't able to feed them properly.

Three Rivers Avian Center (TRAC) rehabbers were contacted, and the babies have been rescued and put in rehab. The babies are "thin, but healthy", and they'll be cared for until they're fully fledged and able to fly properly, then released either back near the nest if Dad is still around, or in another area of New River with ospreys.

[The Infidel]

I'm glad to hear they got rescued. Any updates?

The 3 eaglets are growing fast and father osprey provide enough food. The camerea is tilted a bit and sound is muted for a while due to a military exercise in the area.

[The Infidel]

Only one eaglet left now.

The first died because it got harassed by the biggest one, something that is not uncommon.
The second died because something got stuck in its belly and it couldn't eat properly.

[LadyTevar]

Update on the babies in rescue.

They were doing fine, growing and had been moved to the flight enclosure to learn to use their wings, but yesterday the smaller one was found dead. No sign of injury, just dead of unknown causes. The bigger one is on course to be released once his flying is better.

[The Infidel]

Flight practice in the nest.

Tev, I wonder if being safe in captivity and being fed well makes "your" chick mature earlier?

[LadyTevar]

Flight practice in the nest.

Tev, I wonder if being safe in captivity and being fed well makes "your" chick mature earlier?

That is a good question, one I don't know the answer to.

They did release the juvenile osprey a week ago, and it seems to be surviving on its own.

[The Infidel]

The eaglet has now started to fly around a bit and the nest is sometimes empty. It still can't catch food on its own and is fed by its parents.

[The Infidel]

The juvenile osprey manages fine. Not sure if it catches is own food yet. Mama osprey now fattens herself for the long trip south, but still feeds her kid. Father osprey is also an excellent hunter.

[The Infidel]

A couple of days ago, another juvenile osprey landed in the nest, something the resident juvenile osprey didn't like very much. It went away after a while.
Nest is mostly empty now, but mother is still arriving with fish and feeding is taking place from time to time.

One juvenile osprey marked in Norway this summer has been spotted in the Netherlands, so the trek has started.

[The Infidel]

Nest is now empty again.