Greetings. At 1412 today, March 10, the Eagles nesting along Assateague
channel on CNWRefuge hatched their second chick before the eyes of a dozen
or more video feed viewers at the CNWR Center. The chick hatched as the
adult male was feeding the initial chick hatched during the intense storm
which raked Chincoteague and the East Coast from mid-Tuesday into early
Wednesday. The hatching was a surprise ending to an active eagle day.
At 0835 early-arriving FWS employees watched as the first-hatched chick was
fed leftover waterfowl which had been cached underneath pine needles at the
edge of the nest. I arrived shortly after 0900. The male left the nest at
0921 and was replaced by the female without either feeding the chick. [No
new prey arrived on this occasion nor at any time during the day as of
1515.] The male returned to the nest and the female fed more leftovers from
the pine needles at 0941 until 0947. At least 7 morsels were fed and the
chick was active, erect, shifting from leg to leg and fluttering its wings
while being fed. The male took over incubation/brooding duties.
At 1057 the male vocalized a series of high pitched cheep calls and the
female returned at 1059. The female fed 13 morsels to the chick and resumed
incubating/brooding at 1103. I left the Center at 1110.
Returned to the Center at 1255 and found the male incubating. Other viewers
said that there had been no activity since at least 1230. The male shifted
his position at the nest on several occasions between 1255 and 1412, facing
SW, NW and then W while wiggling and squiggling from time to time in
position as he shifted his weight from leg to leg and moved his wings at the
carpal joint. During these maneuvers, the chick and unhatched egg were seen
periodically, including 1332, 1405.
Without the female returning to the nest, the male removed himself from the
chick and egg at 1411 and walked to the waterfowl remains and began to feed
the chick. A minute later what had been a whole egg became two halves and
the head of the second chick could be seen squirming, egg tooth and wet
downy head, from left half of the egg. The male resumed brooding at 1415.
At 1504 the female returned to the nest and the male promptly took flight.
The female fed the older chick 8-10 morsels. The newly-hatched chick was
seen clear of the egg, seemingly dry and very much smaller in size as
compared to its sibling eaglet. The female did nothing with the egg shells
in the nest depression, did not attempt to feed the second chick and resumed
brooding at 1507. I left the Center thereafter.
Weather today at CNWR was bright sun, light winds from the NW and initial
temps in the mid-20s. As the day progressed, the wind blew 10-12 knots out
of the NW and temps approached 40 before a high overcast approached from the
SW. Winds thereafter backed to the South.
Peter Doherty
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