February 2011
5 posts
3 tags
Golden Eagle release
A golden eagle was recently released following treatment at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. A video of the release with more information can be found here. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is part of an collaborative research effort to learn more about the ecology of the eastern population of golden eagles, detailed information about this exciting effort is available here
7 tags
Third Egg
In the late afternoon of February 9th the female eagle looked to be straining and possibly laying the third egg of this season. We were never able to get a clear look that definitely showed a third egg. In 2008 we had assumed that similar behavior had resulted in a third egg but were later surprised to find only two in the nest (check the 2008 archive).
Snow in the nest blocked much of...
5 tags
Snowy Morning
This morning the eagles at the Norfolk Botanical Garden woke up to a bit of snow. Bald eagles are well adapted to breed in cold climates and this relatively minor snowfall won’t create any difficulties. The eggs remain warm and dry. The eagles are so well insulated by their feathers that the snow on the female’s back doesn’t even melt - most of her body heat is retained.
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A Second Egg
At 4:56 pm on Sunday Feb 6th the second egg was laid at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. The male was present for this egg laying and had brought a fish into the nest. For a detailed account of the egg laying check the CCB Nest Blog.
How exactly is an egg created how does it move through the female’s reproductive tract? In most birds only one side of the reproductive tract is developed...
5 tags
First Egg!
The bald eagles at the Norfolk Botanical Garden have an egg. The first egg of the 2011 season was laid at 2:49 pm on February 3rd, 2011. The female could be seen drawing pine straw up around herself in preparation, and then settled down covering the egg. Bald eagles most commonly have clutches of two eggs although this pair has frequently had three egg clutches, only time will tell how...
