[Bristol-Birds] Eagles mating at Bluff City nest and eggs may be laid this week
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 17:18:18 -0500
BAEA Bluff City copulating at nest `1 Jan 2016.jpg
The Bluff City Bald Eagle pair may have their first egg of the
2015-2016 nesting season late this week or weekend.
The photo above, of the pair mating (copulating) on a branch
above the nest, was captured New Years day at 2:28 p.m.
An egg can can be laid five to ten days after copulation. It takes
about 35 days to incubate the egg before it will hatch. Incubation
is usually shared by both adults.
If you were watching the eagles on the Bristol Tennessee Essential
Services cable TV channel 1001, you may have noticed activity at
the nest was considerable as several days of near record high
temperatures occurred.
With the temperature in the mid 70s on 30 Dec, both birds arrived
at the nest at 7:48 a.m. and spent most of the morning working on
the nest. Sticks as long as 4 to 5 feet were carried to the nest for
at least three hours. One of the adults spent as much as 20 minutes
making sure a single stick was exactly situated to the best position.
The stick was carefully worked into the nest and a minute or so
later retrieved and moved to another side of the nest to see if that
was a better place. A single stick was moved to many places in
the nest until the eagle was satisfied with its placement.
At 5 p.m. Sunday (3 Jan), no eagles have been seen at the nest
today. This is probably due to the weather and maybe a good
and sunny day to hunt and feed. Most days, one or both birds
are attentive at the nest for several minutes around 5:45 p.m
and quickly leave to roost for the evening, before dark at about
6:15 p.m.
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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- » [Bristol-Birds] Eagles mating at Bluff City nest and eggs may be laid this week - Wallace Coffey
