[Bristol-Birds] THREE adult Bald Eagles preparing Bluff City nest !
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 17 Dec 2015 23:39:23 -0500
Today. I determined that the Bluff City Bald Eagle nest,
with the eaglecam, has THREE adult eagles coming to
the nest and working on the lining and sticks in the
nest.
This seems to be a preplexing development but not
one unheard of or undocumented and unpulished
among Bald Eagles and some other raptors.
The series of photos made from TV screen immages
is shown farther down in this post and shares
photo evidence that leads to this temporary
conclusion. You can determine from the markings
in the photo above that the face and what we call
a mascara smudge behind the eye of one bird,
is different than that of two others visiting
and working on the nest.
There is no video evidence that three eagles have
actually been on the nest at the same time but they
may certainly be in the immediate vicinity simulatneously.
The bald eagle is usually monogamous and thought to
pair for life. Breeding pairs or sometime highly territorial
but we have not encountered that in our local population.
BAEA 65 from 28 Kan 2012.JPG
Above photo January 2012 female when nest first found,
showing what we call mascara smudge behind eye.
BAEA Oct13 2015 two without mascare.jpg
Two Bald Eagles frequenting nest Dec 14, 2015 and both
with pure white heads and not showing mascara (photo
above and below). These clear heads without markings
are seen almost daily at the Bluff City nest.
BAEA B;iff Cotu mest both pure white heads Dec 14 2015.jpg
BAEA one with mascare behind eye `Dec 17 2015 at Bluff City.jpg
Photo above and below captured, Dec 17 2015, shows
mascara marking on left side of head (above) and same
marking on right side of head (below).
BAEA Bluff City mascare on opposite side face Dec 17 2015.jpg
Three adult eagles have been confirmed to participate
in incubation in published studies. All three adults
participated in brooding, feeding, and procuring food.
On a few occasions, three adults were observed either
standing or lying in a nest with an eaglet. On five
occasions a "helper" and mated female were observed
feeding an eaglet simultaneously.
The actual images on the TV screen are much sharper
and more contrasting and there appears to be no doubt.
We will keep Bristol-Birds subscribers informed as we
observe and learn more. This is exciting times and an
amazing development at the Bluff City Bald Eagle nest
along the South Fork Holston River in eastern Sullivan
County, TN.
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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- » [Bristol-Birds] THREE adult Bald Eagles preparing Bluff City nest ! - Wallace Coffey
