Community Chat

[SeaGal]

Gosh possummink what beautiful pictures, thank you so much for posting them!

I am glad to see it calm down at the GHO nest, a couple times I saw her eyes and she even looked worried. I wonder how often owls take over eagle nests or other nests instead of tucked safely in a hollow tree. I know one is trying to take over the Decorah eagle nest, you can go to the Decorah eagle cam, click on the videos and there you will see a couple that note the owl high lites! In one of them they are working on their little nest cup in the huge nest, (loudly) chatting back and forth to each other, it is very funny! If you want to see it but cant locate it, holler I will get the link for you. Ma and Pa Decorah keep running them off!

So it looks like there may be a pip in one of the GHO eggs this morning? The video is there, I cant tell if it is a dirt or a pip in the egg! I cant imagine a tiny nestling hanging on in the wind that has blown thru the last few days, I think mom thinks she may have made a mistake in her choice to nest there. I sure hope all is well, I cant wait to see these 2 little guys and watch them grow!

[possummink]

Hi SeaGal, You were right about thepip in the egg. One of them hatched earlier this afternoon. I saw the baby as she left her nest for about 2-3 minutes. She flew back and I thought she had something in her beak, but she faced away from the camera and the next thing I noticed she was facing to the right side of the screen and then started eating some egg shell. I am worried about the 2nd egg and am hoping that it didn't break and that she ate that shell. Earlier I though I saw only 1/2 of the 1sthatchling's shell. Could have been not as visible as the part I did see. I sure didn't know that the parent ate theeggshells.

The wind has been awful, infact Idownloaded the Savannah weather site onto my smartphone so I can check the temperatures and conditions there anytime. Yesterday, she was sitting on the nest making soft chirps, like she was lonely. I felt so sorry for her with the wind, the endless sitting, the rain and thenlonliness. . I wonder when or how soon the baby will be fed. I keep the site on all day on my other laptop, and put the laptoponsleep so I can see the site pretty quickly whenever I want. She sure is alert and so watchful, sounds redundant, I guess.

I just put the eaglecam inthe search box and am waiting for it to come up. Thanks for the link to the owls. Love watching her, and for the info on the eagle cam. I sure hope the wind stays calm and the 2 babies make it.

[SeaGal]

Oh, the pictures are soo beautiful. I could put those on my walls and never tire of seeing them.

I just have a minute but I wanted to tell you, scroll the red bar back to the left, about an inch+ from the left till it reads 18:16 you can see the chick, 1/2 its egg and the other egg looks fine. I cant believe she left it for 2-3 minutes, I was shivering for the lil guy!

I have dinner coming out of the oven now, I will peek back on the thread if I can or in the morning. How exciting huh!!

Their faces look kinda strange just born, long, lol!!

eta~ the video is up with the chicks first steps so ignore the instructions above! Oh and yes, I think the egg shells are full of calcium so the bird normally eats them, they are softer then the eggs we buy! They dont waste much in the wild do they! Yum!!

[SeaGal]

Hi possummink, good morning/afternoon! First thing I sat down with my coffee and checked on the GHO nest, I know what you mean about her loneliness? I have wondered about that often and wonder if the Mr. has been perched on a branch out of cam site all this time (like the eagles mate does when not hunting) but I am not sure. The owls seem to chatter back and forth alot from watching them work at Decorah eagle cam but our beautiful girl is soo quiet. Well she is not lonely now! I sure hope the weather has calmed down for a spell now so we can see the baby, hopefully the second one will hatch soon. After the chick hatched yesterday I swear I could see a crack? on the left side of the 2nd egg as the 1st chick was first out, check that video at the right, the one they got of the little guys first steps, concentrate on the left side of the other egg. Keeping the faith that all is well with the other egg and s/he will be here soon. Hopefully that was just schmutz from the hatchling on that egg and not a crack.

So I was checking on the nest last night before going to bed, I clicked on the video there I just mentioned of the chicks first steps and oh geez I was off on a youtube ride for another couple hours, it was 2 am before I finally shut the puter down! I ended up on baby parrots lol, I found one I just sat and laughed until my sides hurt! Check out this video and fall in love with the youngest, omg sooo cute. I love when one squawks they all squawk, I am telling you it is sooo funny! Sorry I cant make a link with chrome but go to:

youtube.com/watch?v=PSt_gdjwmvY

Wondering if by chance you have seen Momma feed her baby this morning/afternoon? I love her expressions when the lil one moves under her, she is so sweet and soo beautiful, I am mezzmerized by her! Have a nice day possummink!

[possummink]

Hi SeaGal, I have been keeping an eye on the beautiful mama owl off and on all day. I haven't seen her leave the nest for even a second. It's been raining all day I guess and the radar for Savannah shows more rain on the way, so I guess she'll sit there to protect her baby and the other egg. I read that the bird that was in the nest, the prey that she flew in with last night was a Clapper Rail. I haven't gotten that bird on my life list but would love to. I don't think she fed the baby, at least now while I was watching. She sure is alert to anything going on near her nest. What a stare she has. She is fascinating to watch, more so than the Barred Owl mom I watched last March, April and part of May.

I am wondering if the male is the one who caught the Clapper Rail as I don't think she had time to hunt it down and catch it. She was off the nest for about 2 to 3 min. when she came back with it and then later she left, I guess around midnight give or take. She was gone about 7 minutes or so, and that's when I got a good look at the rail and also the owlet, who was all fluffed up and huddled next to the other egg. I sure hope the male is hanging around and is looking out for her.

So far I haven't seen the Decorah eagles, though I did see the nest which had a lot of snow on it. I am trying to type while my GSs cockatiel, Frank, is sitting on the back of my hand. He's a spoiled bird for sure. Wants to be with people instead of in his cage. He's not afraid of the 3 cats that live here and bites everything he can get his beak on.

I will check the parrots out in a bit. Fascinating and I am not getting much done, watching the birds on the computer and on the feeder outside the window.

Have a lovely evening and thanks again for the leads/links.

[possummink]

SeaGal, I was just about to turn the computers off and Mama Owl flew off the nest for a couple of minutes and returned with 'food', another bird I think.

While she was off, I could see the baby owlet really good and the egg also. I think there was a hole in the egg about dime size and it looked like the little owlet was peckingit'sway out. I was afraid it would get cold as it's in the 40ies there and I didn't know how long the mama would be off the nest. I watched her a lot today and she didn't leave the nest that I saw till now. She waschirpping earlier and I felt so bad for her as she kept it up for way over an hour. She seemed so lonely or maybe hungry. I don't know if that male is around at all. I wish they (Cornell watchers) would put more commentary on the side of the monitor.

Catch you later.

[Bird mama]

I still haven't taken a look at the owl camera yet (cowardly). Does Mama owl have a mate? I'm so used to seeing male eagles participate in the rearing of babies - does that not happen with owls? Is Mama on her own?

[possummink]

Birdmama, She does have a mate. I had not seen him more than once, on a video by Cornell, at the beginning of her nesting. This morning, another video was available, and it showed him coming to the nest this morning, bringing her food. She was chirping again like she does every now and then and that's when he appeared and landed on the nest. Since the nestcam is focused on the nest, if he's sitting nearby, you can't see him. The camera operators now and then pull the lens back and you can see a large part of the area past the nest toward the Ocean. Lots of salt marshes in that area.so there must be lots of 'food' opportunities.

No mention by anyone of the second egg hatching and she's sitting tight on the nest, I said the spot I saw was about the size of a dime, actually it was smaller, like about little fingernail size. I was way off there. I wonder if it was the younger owlet??

She is a gorgeous bird, and Papa is a handsome guy too. I just wonder where he stays and just how close by he is. I sure hope he helps her feed the babies and stays close as there are pesky crows around her nest. She snaps her beak at them if they venture too close to the nest.

[SeaGal]

More awesome pictures, can you even believe how cute those fellas are! They look like they are wearing coconut shells on their heads! So I was able to go back on the tape yesterday to see the mom fly off and the baby exposed, s/he sure is a sleepy little one. Gosh eagles at that age are mostly alert little bobblie heads when exposed at that age. It's not fair for me to compare them tho as I dont know anything about owls except they are ALL so beautiful.

Possummink, I was unable to see a pip in the egg but the notes from Cornell Lab there looks like they are expecting a hatch today? Maybe that is normal with owls, a 3 day schedule! Well the weather looks perfect for a hatch, a slight breeze but looks like a sunny noon at Skidaway. Oh one thing I wanted to ask you, do you know if say for instance, this pair is young thus the possible mistake in the nest they chose vs. a hollowed out tree for example, something more protected? And only 2 eggs, that seems like a small clutch when you think of the photos and the multiple chicks in them, again maybe because they are a young(er) pair? This will be interesting to see how this goes BUT in the close up of the chicklet yesterday you could really see just how deep the nest cup is, I was suprised it was that deep 'cuz it sure doesnt look like it from most shots. Did you see the notes from yesterday under the screen, they had a young selementary class asking questions, one asked if there was feathers inside the egg to keep 'im warm, awwww what a sweetie!

Oh yes the Clapper Rail, I had to look that one up as I saw the headless bird sitting up on its tush like it was watching over baby while mom was out, did you see it lol, it was the strangest thing!! The photos I googled reminded me of a small roadrunner type bird?

Birdmama, hi please do check them out! All's well and yes dad delivered a feathery breakfast this morning, she ate some and fed the rest to the baby, they have a short video there! He sat for a 1/2 minute or so with mom then turned his head around and looked straight at the cam, very handsome guy! Are you watching any eagle nest's Berry, Decorah? I know Berry mom is brooding and it is still a little early for the more Northern eagles are still I am following the NE and SW Fla nests, and the owl, then I will take a break til it is Osprey laying season, late summer. I have found the are sweeter and funnier then the eagle as a family unit, I really enjoy them! Nice to see you!

Have a nice days all!

[SeaGal]

I just cant quit looking at the photos you post Possummink, they are all just incredible! The 3 chicklets on the wicker perch must be GHO owlets?

eta~ Ha! I see you posted just above me! You saw the video, mom stretched her neck up and looked so happy to see her beau, very sweet! Keeping my fingers crossed for another chicklet soon...today!!?

They seem to be eating well.