Sad news for today. This morning the female eagle at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens was killed when she was struck while fishing by a landing plane. No one on the plane was injured and the plane itself sustained minimal damage.
Three baby eaglets now must rely soley on the father who will more than likely continue to care for them until they fledge. The eaglets are about a week away from being able to fend for themselves.
The moderated feed today on the Norfolk eagle cam site stated that the pair had been together since 2003 after the females first mate was killed, also by a plane. The male has been perched by the nest all day but his instinct to take over care hasn't kicked in yet. He's relied on her for 19 years and 19 successful babies fledging so it may take awhile.
The staff at Norfolk and the Center for Conservation Biology will see if he feeds them tomorrow before making a decision about whether or not to remove the eaglets from the nest. If they are removed they are all healthy enough to be raised in a manner that will allow their release into the wild. And that IS good news.
BIG CHANGES AFOOT.
10 years ago
Oh, that's too bad. They'd been together 19 years? Wow. Remarkable.
ReplyDeleteDid I ever send you the bird guides I work on? If not, shame on me, and allow me to do so. (In which case I'll need your address.)
Hope you're well,
k
You did send it to me and I refer to it quite a bit. It's a beautiful book. Wait! Guides? I have the Audubon book. Are there more?
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI, even though the male eagle fed the eaglets they decided to removethem from the nest to raise and release. They are now at the Wildlife Conservation Center of Virginia. They were more likely to all survive this way, including the adult male.
And I meant 9 years. Slip of the fingers...