How Long Do Fledgling Bald Eagles Stay Home?
Urban Raised Juvenile Bald Eagles Fledging
June 14, 2013Camellia – Old Carolina Rd, VB 6/17
June 17, 2013Questions abound this time of year about bald eagles that are just leaving their nest tree (fledging) for the first time. At what age do they fledge? Do the adults continue to take care of them? For how long? How long do the fledglings remain in the nest territory (natal area)? Where do they go on their first flight away from home?
Close nest monitoring and satellite and cell technology are helping to answer these questions (and many more). Three bald eagles from local nests in Norfolk (Norfolk Botanical Garden) and Virginia Beach (Saw Pen Point) are helping provide the data that answers these questions. Observations and satellite data from Azalea and Camellia and cell data from KE provides the following:
Azalea hatched March 22, 2009, fledged June 13, 2009 (84 days), left natal area August 17, 2009 (66 days) and flew to Tulls Bay in Currituck County, NC.
Camellia hatched March 11, 2010, fledged May 27, 2010 (78 days), left natal area July 13, 2010 (48 days) and flew to Williamsburg, VA.
KE hatched March 31, 2012, fledged June 14, 2012 (76 days), left natal area July 29, 2012 (46 days) and flew to Piankatank River in Middlesex County, VA.
Yesterday, June 15, 2013 I accompanied Shelly Fowler to the location where she has been assisting Courtney Turrin, a William & Mary (Center for Conservation Biology) graduate student, gather data about the bald eagles at the nest on Saw Pen Point in Virginia Beach (same nest KE is from). Three young eagles have been raised in this nest, one of which fledged June 10 and another June 12. Not sure if the third had fledged. As we arrived the adult female left the nest and went into a very high soar directly over head and out of sight. Shelly and I could see that there were two juveniles in the nest. Then the adult male flew in with a fish (photo) and like magic the third juvenile appeared in the nest (photo). The male left and the third juvenile moved to a lower branch (photo). Another question answered. Yes, the adults do continue to care for their young after they fledge. (Photos copyright Michele Fowler). Click on photos to enlarge.
5 Comments
All we are learning is so exciting! Great images Shelly, great to see the fledglings. Thanks for the informative post and being out there.
Thank you Reese snd Shelly.. This is so interesting and the pix are awsome..
Thank Reese, I adopted Azalea (HH) because I loved how she like to stand in front of the camera and beg for food. She stayed and stayed and stayed. She did a good job for herself once she finally left. Good luck to the class of 2013!
Great brief about your Saw Pen nest, Shelly and Reese. It so works like that – the observer has to be patient enough to wait for that food arrival! You guys have a decent view of the nest, too! Love that shot of the three! Do you have a place to view the water training / activity from? Thanks so much!
Response – Training flights viewed from same location.
Thanks Reese and Shelly, great pictures.