Camellia On The Move Again – Trick or Treat
October 31, 2011Camellia Flies to Sussex County, VA 10/31
November 3, 2011Our last satellite map showed that Azalea was still in Northumberland County at 10:00am Oct 28. She took off from there about 1:00pm and headed south and by 3:00pm was in York County where she was located at 10:00am Oct 29 – PINK pointer. She travel a little bit further south and at 10:00am Oct 30 was in Hampton (GREEN point), from where she flew over Norfolk Harbor to Norfolk and Chesapeake (Great Bridge at 3:00pm) and back to a place with which she is very familiar – Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach – WHITE arrow at 6:00pm Oct 30.
2 Comments
It’s good to see Azalea back in her natal territory. The last report mentioned juvenile eagles screaming at each other over Smith point marina, then the next morning Azalea came back home, could she have felt unwelcome there, and decided to come home?
Also, Reese, I noticed that on October 30 Azalea flew East from Chesapeake to Stumpy lake, and Camelia flew west on a similar track to the northern part of the Dismal swamp in Chesapeake. From your detailed data, could they have been in the same area at the same time? Thanks so much!
Response – Possible that Azalea and Camellia crossed paths near north end of Dismal Swamp, but about an hour or so apart. Since the data points are one hour apart I cannot be certain.
This constant traveling by juveniles or sub adults is facinating. I know they will not be tolerated in areas with nesting adults when the season starts; so is the flying around an effort to find an area where they will feel safe and still be able to hunt for food? Do these sub adults usually stay within a general area (square miles) of their hatching site?
Response – Yes, juvenile eagles do wander widely exploring areas outside their natal area, then many eventually establish a breeding territory within the region of their birth. Banding helps us to understand their movements and determine just where they eventually settle. As we can see from Azalea and Camellia, their range can vary considerably. They definitely do not follow each other around, though their paths do occasionally cross.