The Eagle caught a Stuffed Toy Chipmunk!

You know that the Eaglets have hatched:



But guess what else has happened!

The poor eagle thought he was bringing a really nice furry feast home for it's little ones,,,

....but unfortunately....

It's caught a fake animal....someone's stuffed toy! Here is the video of mom picking apart the stuffed toy trying to get to the real meat to feed her patient chicks! She throws the stuffing all over her kids and her nest!:




Look at the stuffed rabbit in the nest live - if you click on the right hand Eagle Icon. You can actually see the labelling on the stuffed animal.

Here is the Mom moving the stuffed toy around in the nest - she seems rather annoyed with it - but doesn't throw it over the edge just yet. Maybe it might keep the babies amused when they get a little bigger:



Here is one of the pair bringing a real food to the nest - look at approximately the 8 minute mark for the real rabbit:



And in case you haven't been following the eagles, here is a video put together that shows the progression of building the nest:

Having a Bird....

You know how I am about the eagles.   Click on that "Eagle" picture in the column to the right and take a look at the little babies!  Yes, the eggs have hatched! 

I haven't been as vocal about them on my blog as last year, but I have been watching them just as closely! You can watch the mom and dad feeding the babies! They are approximately 10 days old now.

Last year's chickadee

On another note ...   Remember the chickadees we had last year in our little decorative birdhouse outside our back door?

They didn't come back.  :(

So sad.  They were so cute!!!

However - we do have some Robins that have decided to build their nest on top of the birdhouse!!!   They are quite the decorators, using shiny plastic and matching ribbon for their nest!

A Robin "Condo"

Notice the blue matching ribbon! This is an
iPhone photo my husband took

Year of the Dragon!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! "May Prosperity Be With You" - the popular saying during the Lunar New Year!

The Year of the Dragon!

Most of the world celebrates this Chinese New Year  Holiday.

A local B.C. artist  has an amazing piece of sculpture that is now on display at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. where there is a large Asian population. 

This same artwork was on display throughout the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver this past summer.

He has also been commissioned to build an eagle sculpture for Dollywood.  Take a peek (by clicking on the links in this blog) at what he is doing! It is nothing short of incredible!

It's one thing to look at photos, but my husband and I had the pleasure of seeing these up close and personal....and even got to talk to the artist himself....Kevin Stone.

Looking from the tail, through the coil to the head

The head of the dragon up close

My husband taking a photo of the eagle

If you ever go to Dollywood, you will be able to see the eagle....and know that it migrated all the way from British Columbia!

The Clean-up after the Riot, and there goes my Chickadees...

Only in Canada.

19,000 Individual Canadians voluntarily signing up to clean the city after their own riot.


I am tired of that subject, so on to different news:

My chickadee family has "flown the coop" with no difficulty.

Now - back to the Eagles.

White Rock Eagles

Right now the Eagles are defending their nest.



Crows are flying over the nest - divebombing - as one of the pair of adults sits above and fends them off.




You can hear the warning calls of the parent, along with the "caw-caw-caw" of the crows....


The little darlings would make a tasty meal for a crow.
It's real live drama!

In Just under a month - Look how much they have grown!

April:21st




May 18th:





These are snapshots taken of the eagles' nest in White Rock, B.C......link to the left.
It's amazing how much they have grown in such a short space of time!

And - btw, the Eaglet on Vancouver Island was safely rescued and the parents are continuing with feeds.
Also good news - they cleaned the camera at the same time and now the view of the 3 eaglets is much clearer!

More Eaglet Drama

You have seen and visited the Eagle Nest link to the left in my connections.  

You have also seen the Virginia Eagles - the mother eagle that was killed by the plane and now the babies are being raised at the Wildlife Center there.

Well, there is another Eagle's Nest that is coming into the news.

Apparently, an eaglet - one of three - in this nest in Sidney, B.C. (on Vancouver Island)  is snagged on some fishing line since this past Saturday.  

Fishing line can be found in most Eagles' nests because they tend to prey on fish that are wounded - ones that have been caught in nets and escaped.  These are perfect targets for Eagles, who work continuously to feed their young.

 Today, a rescue plan to drop down from a Search and Rescue helicopter was scrapped.

The plan now is - to get large mats in place on the muddy land's surface that will support a 65 Ton crane at the site of the tree and someone will rescue the eaglet.   

Hopefully the ground will dry enough to allow the crane to do the rescue....or the eaglet's days are numbered.

The adult eagles will continue to feed the baby and will not abandon it, but the fear is that they will no longer use the nest in the future.

Here is the link to the Sidney Eagle cam. 

If you are lucky enough, you might just catch the rescue......Live!!  Tomorrow!!

Spring is getting here s-l-o-w-l-y............

Love the spring.  Here is a peek at what's in our yard!

The Clematis blossoms are cascading off our fence...but you can still see the snow on the mountaintops!



There are soooo many blossoms!!!

Apple blossoms.  We have a "apple hedge" that grows 4 different types of apples!

A dead honeybee hangs from a spider's web.  Notice the spider blends into the blossom!

Then there is the Evergreen Clematis that grows around our house.....

The bleeding hearts have been out for a month now!

And in the local park nearby....



Little  families are coming out!



Canada geese and their babies!

...and at least a dozen of these big boys sitting on the log sunning themselves. (western painted turtle)




Nothing more beautiful than nature!
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The West Virginia Eagle Mom: Killed by a Plane

Sad News.

The other day (April 26th) the Mother Eagle was struck by a plane and killed. She was approximately 14 years old. She and her partners (her original partner had also been killed by a plane several years before) had produced 19 eaglets.

The nest is situated next to the Norfolk airport. It apparently isn't uncommon for this to happen.

The decision was made for the young eagles to be removed from the next because the Father Eagle alone would not be able to keep up with the feeds.

In the next couple months the young eagles would triple in size and it would have meant that they would have starved, or killed the weakest in the nest to eat, in order to survive.

Here is the examination of the eaglet when first brought to the Botanical Garden in West Virginia:



Here is the video of the lone Male coming back to the empty nest:



Apparently, he brought a fish to the nest for the young ones to eat - and left it there when he found no babies.

So sad.

Meanwhile, the Provincial court here in B.C. will today decide whether it is the Aboriginal Right under the Constitution to kill, possess and traffic in Eagle carcasses and parts, even though it is against the Provincial Wildlife Act.

48 mutilated Carcasses were found near Squamish and North Vancouver.

Under the present law, it is illegal, without a permit, to possess or sell any eagle parts.

The penalty for poaching is a fine up to $50K or 6 months in jail. The penalty for trafficking in eagle parts is up to $100K fine and/or 1 year in jail.

Personally, 48 dead eagles, no matter what "rights" - is excessive in this day and age.

Meanwhile, here is yesterday's video of our White Rock eagles' nest being whipped around in the wind yesterday:



And the two eagles together in the wind the day before:

More Bird Talk: Chickadees!

Fifteen years ago, an old boyfriend of mine gave me a birdhouse that his father had made. I thought it was a cute little thing....lovely colors and well constructed. 

checking out the birdhouse - before I moved it

I used it as decor around my yard, not ever thinking that any bird would want to nest in it never mind  fit through the small hole!

The only thing that ever tried to nest in it were a family of wasps.

This past week, we had some little visitors that have been busy hauling moss from the neighbor's flower baskets.....

Chickadees!!!

They are so cute - that little pair of birds!

I had just haphazardly placed the birdhouse at chest level near the hot tub last fall, not thinking a bird would actually want it as a home.  

When I noticed the chickadees going in and out of the house, I moved it first to the nine foot level, then over to another corner of the patio, out of reach of the cat - among the branches of the wisteria tree.

You can see one of the chickadees peeping out the door

I can't believe the wildlife around here!

Trains and Birds

If you ever have the opportunity to travel by train anywhere....do it!

That's how I moved to California.......boarded in Seattle - got off in Martinez, CA.

Amtrak crossing the border

When I used to live in White Rock, the train was a part of the ambiance of the place.

A small sleepy seaside community - it reminded me a bit of Santa Cruz, CA - with the sidewalk cafes, sunny weather, beaches - the tide going in and out. 

Running through, along the whole length of the beach is the train - at approximately 8 to 8:30 every am and pm  - and sometimes in the afternoon. 

Usually the afternoon train is the passenger train AMTRAK -  full of tourists.   You could see all the people with noses pressed against the glass  admiring the view and waving at the pedestrians out for a pleasant sunny stroll along the seawalk. 



 



White Rock pier, Semiahmoo (WA) in the distance
The train passes by - just beyond that blue fence!



It's that same train you can just barely see at the top of the screen of the Eagle cam - and definitely you can hear the whistle as it rolls past beneath the nest. 









If you ever have the opportunity to ride that train from Seattle to Vancouver - make sure to look straight up just after you go through the town of White Rock.  You will see the Eagles nest - the same one on the Cam - directly above you!

******************************

Speaking of trains, we watched "Unstoppable" last night on our "Man Cave Movie Screen" downstairs. 

I would highly recommend it!  Apparently based on a true story.

Yes, it's that good!

Mom Feeding the Eaglet - Video

You can see the newer baby eaglet flopping around.  It doesn't have as much muscle tone and control as the older one.

The parent is feeding the older eaglet.

You can hear my husband making commentary in the background.  I was trying to get him to be quiet for the video, because you can actually hear the chirping of the babies.

I just recorded this within the last 15 minutes.

Sorry Phiddy, that you missed this!  This all occurred 1/2 hour after you left your comment! :(

Photos of the Eaglet and Egg with a crack in it...

Last night when I was watching the Eagle was feeding it's new baby, I noticed the other egg - it had a crack in it! It was beginning to hatch!

I am not sure when the first one hatched but we have been watching the cam daily and up until now, I had not seen any babies - only eggs.

It's unusual to have the eggs hatch in the same day, so perhaps the first one had already hatched the day before sometime....

Sorry these photos of the cam are so blurry. If you go to the cam itself, the video stream is amazingly high definition and you can even see the feathers of the eagle moving in the wind....the best nature cam I have seen to date.

The owners of the property paid for and installed the cam at their own expense.

One thing I do notice, is that the Train coming up from the USA makes itself known by a whistle several times a day - and you can see it pass under the nest on the closeup in the evening when it's lights are on.

Sometimes I miss living in White Rock.

A CHICK HAS HATCHED!

Quick - Click on the eagle picture to the left........

There is a baby chick in the nest!!!!

You will see the tide is out.....the sun sets in about 2 hours....

A Mom's instinct

It's raining in White Rock where the Eagle's nest is.

Take a look at what the Eagle Mom is doing.

A photo I took of the eagle cam. - When you click on the cam, Expand the view to fit your entire screen!

On the nest, she spreads her wings out so the rain, when it runs off her waterproof feathers, will trickle off - rather than just underneath her - further away from her eggs!

Isn't nature amazing!

By the way, we were watching the eagle on the wide angle shot last night...and at approximately 8 pm, there was a gorgeous sunset!!!

Even BETTER than the West Virginia Eagle Cams!!!! SOUND!!!



courtesy of free bird photography site

 On the news this am - was a story about eagle cams right here in British Columbia.  Digging further into the story - I found that it wasn't just the ONE cam that was out there.

Here is the site that not only gives a map as to approximately where the NINE streaming webcams at SEVEN different locations are - but they provide accompanying sound.  This particular site was created and is maintained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) which is something similar to NPR in the USA.

The Organization that provides most of the cams is the Hancock Wildlife Org.

David Hancock is a local biologist and has been studying the bald eagle for more than 50 years - from Alaska to Florida.  He lives here in B.C.   He would lecture everywhere, trying to educate the public about conserving our wildlife and promoting science and stewardship.  The introduction of these eagle cams has reached more people and educated far more than all the lectures he has given throughout the years.

In his own words:

"Shortly after we first put the Hornby nest camera up and the public started watching it in truly staggering numbers, I realized that in one short week we had reached out and influenced more people than I had spoken to or lectured to or taught in all my years as a biologist and travelling lecturer. The Internet, and live streaming wildlife cameras is the way to go."

---

The cam in White Rock (where I used to live) has two different views - the clearest - one up close and one that is wide angle.  It is the best cam for viewing by far - and it gives a great view of the setting also.  HIGH DEFINITION....amazing!!!


You can see much clearer than the West Virginia cam and the fact that there is SOUND - makes it much more interesting.  The first egg has just hatched yesterday  at the Surrey site cam, so if you missed all the excitement around hatching at the one in WV - you can watch the progress at this site!

Remember the Owl cam last year?

This is the Eagle Cam in Norfolk, Virginia.

Some of the chicks are hatched. The latest one - just yesterday.   I have always loved armchair nature-ogling.

Watch them grow!


Addendum:  Here is the Eagle's Nest Blog website. Very interesting photos up close and personal with explanations.  You can also track where the eagles go....

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