Marion, that's fantastic! As I watched, the eagle got up and began to tidy things up a bit, and then started tearing up a fish. Up popped a baby's head, and she proceeded to feed it bits of fish! Amazing to sit at home and watch that happening live in Port St Lucie! Thanks for sharing the link. I'm putting it on my desktop to check on over the next few weeks. Would love to watch the babies fledge!

Marcia

They are really magnificent birds!! Thanks for the post.

thanks for posting the link, I love it! I just saw the feeding, the little head came up, soo cute. It will be awesome to watch when the chick is a bit older.

Evelyn

marion,
thank you for sharing. I can see how vigilant these species are. She was sitting in the nest observing everything.
I love the Bald Eagle.
Felix

TTT so others don't miss this opportunity.

This is so awesome!

(OK I confess I went here last nite and wondered why I could see anything, the media player being dark and all. Feel free to laugh)

Just a few tidbits to enhance your viewing pleasure. The eagle you see on the nest feeding the young can be either the female or the male, as they both take turns raising the eaglets. See if you are able to notice that one parent is notably larger than the other. That would be the female. Female eagles can weigh 10 to 12 pounds, while males are usually in the 6 to 8 pound range. Surprisingly light for such large birds, eh? (Females can have an 8 foot wingspan, and males about 6 foot.)

Eagles nest in the winter (hence the nice show going on right now), and the young have often fledged by February. Young eagles take several years to develop the white head and tail of the adult birds. They are usually either solid brown, or brown with various white markings here and there as they are maturing. They have longer wing & tail feathers than the adults, so they often look larger.

When you see a turkey vulture silhouette soaring towards you, you will notice a shallow "V" shape to the wings. (Called the "dihedral" angle). When you see an eagle soaring towards you, the wings will be held straight out & flat, with no dihedral angle. So it is often easy to distinguish that the large soaring bird in the distance is probably a turkey vulture rather than an eagle.

A huge percentage of an eagle's diet is fish, which is why they so often nest near bodies of water. They will catch fish in their talons the same way an osprey does, but will also steal fish from other birds any chance they get. Why do all the work when another bird has done it for you?

And one last tidbit to ponder. Eagles mate in flight. Talk about "feeling the earth move!"

;o)
Marcia

wow, thanks so much Marcia, I love all the information. Especially about the earth moving (parachutes come to mind here)

Evelyn

Marcia thanks so much for the info. I'm finding myself going back to the eagle cam quite often through the day and not gettng much done. LOL

Glad you enjoyed the info, ladies, and yes, the camera is addictive! I've really enjoyed checking in on them, Marion, and I'm so glad you posted the link.

Marcia

like ben, i'm a great lover of the turkey.

***

Benjamin Franklin's Letter to His Daughter (excerpt)

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country . . .

"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

***

funny how smart people can see the same things so differently, no?

It is, indeed. And while I'm a BIG fan of the wild turkey, I'm afraid Ben has some of his facts wrong, and also looks at things from the viewpoint of folks living in a different time. Birds have "moral character?" I don't THEEEENK so. They just do what they were designed to do, after all.

Of course, I know that Ben probably didn't spend nearly as much time studying eagles up close and personal with a 24/7 webcam as some of us have...what with inventing bifocals, publishing Poor Richard's Almanac, flying kites in rainstorms, and flittin' around France, lovin' on the ladyfolk like a statesman possessed an' all!

(Poor moral character, indeed! Harruuuuuuumph!)

But it does make for amusing reading.

Thanks for sharing his ideas, Ill! You always come up with interestin' stuff!

Marcia

Last nights news said there are two babies!

The eaglettes are more visable each day! Thought I'd bring this to the top so you all don't miss them.

And off they flew...... They grow so fast and then leave the nest.
Eagles/Kids it's all the same.
Kristi (having an empty nest sorta day.)

Ain't it the truth, Kristi! You slave over your eaglets, feeding and nurturing them, teaching and guiding them, and then one day, off they fly...CLEAR TO FREAKIN' SAN DIEGO!!!

Ooops...'scuse me. Forgot we were talkin' BIRDS here!

Marcia (ps...the eagle cam was a fun adventure! Thanks for linking it for us, Msmarion!)