It's a Really Big World Out There!!
March 16, 2010Azalea Still on the Move
March 18, 2010
“Wow! It sure does look like a big world out there. Wonder what’s on the other side of these sticks and pine straw? My dad is huge and my mom is even bigger. At five days of age I have already doubled my weight and I can hold my head up for several minutes now. My dad is pretty good at catching fish. I’ll learn to do that one day. Time for a nap. See you later.
P.S. – Click on my photos and I get bigger.”
8 Comments
sleep well Thursday – you will grow everyday as we watch you.
Thanks Reese for the narrative.
Dad’s name is Hugh?? LOL Reese, getting a little tired, are you?
Love these shots and the world from the little guy’s point of view.
Thanks so much
Thanks for these great pictures. He is certainly a cute little eaglet! Loved your take of the world thru the eaglet’s eyes!
Hard to believe he has already doubled his weight!
They will be well fed.
Reese, how do you identify these young ones to keep track of them?…like at the banding when we learn such info as, “The first born is a female”, etc. Since the eaglets look so alike (to our untrained eyes) it would be interesting to understand your technique, especially in light of the fact that females are larger so “size” might not be an indicator of birth order.
Thanks for sharing the benefit of your knowledge and experience!
Dolly – You ask a really good question. Last year the eaglets hatched right on schedule and without any extraordinary circumstances. A few days can make a big difference in their development. When we banded them, the measurements were inconclusive for chick #3 (HE) as to wether it was a male or female. We were able to tell that HE was a female when we fitted the transmitter to Azalea.
This year is a bit different. We do not know for certain that the eggs hatched in 1-2-3 order, and in fact may have hatched in 2-1-3 order and hatched much closer together. Measurements when we band them in April should tell us their sex, but we may never know for sure in what order they hatched.
Thank you for you response, Reese. I know I speak for many when I say that we enjoy learning from you!
I have another question, and I apologize for its repetitiveness: my hubby and I will be visiting NBG (from TX) and want to plan our trip so we can also attend the April WCV Open House, if possible. Can you give us a rough estimate (maybe the week) of when the eaglets’ banding will take place? We don’t want to miss it this year, and look forward to meeting you!
Dolly
I can’t give an exact date yet, but we usually try to band about 30 days or so after hatch – so about April 15.
Thanks. My life has been enlarged and enriched because of this bald eagle family…you, NBG, the WCV, forum “friends” and photographers, and a new interest in God’s creation!