Azalea Returns to Virginia Beach
Camellia Visits Fentress Air Field, Back to Bow Creek
October 7, 2011Camellia Wandering About Virginia Beach Again!
October 10, 2011Azalea just can’t stay away. She just has to return to Virginia Beach every once in a while. When we last saw her she was on Rigby Island in Mathews County, Va (Green pin 9:00am Oct 4). She left there immediately after that and flew across York County, Newport News, Hampton and Norfolk (over Norfolk Botanical Garden about 2:30pm) to the north end of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach. As of 1:00am Oct 5 she was right off Sandbride Rd (Blue pointer). The morning of Oct 5 she flew to Stumpy Lake and spent the day sitting around and still there at 1:00am Oct 6 (Yellow pointer). Azalea left Stumpy Lake and flew south over Fentress Naval Airfield (Camellia had just been there but already flown back to Bow Creek) then turned north and flew to the Thurston Branch of the Lynnhaven River where she has been many times and was there as of this satellite map at 5:00pm Oct 6 (White arrow). Click maps to enlarge.
4 Comments
I find Eagle tracking fascinating! I have a couple of questions. I put Azalea and Camelia’s maps side by side on my computer. It is amazing to me that they went to so many of the same spots over the same couple of days: Fentress, Back bay, and Bow creek. Their last satellite signals showing them near each other,( as the eagle flies). Do you have a way you can analyze their flight maps to see if they were together at any of those places? How many eagles are in the southside area at any one given time? Wouldn’t it be interesting to put trackers on 2 eagles from the same nest, to see if they do travel together, or meet occasionally.
Jewel – I did compare their flight paths when I noticed that both had been to Fentress. Did they see each other while in flight? Possible! Camellia left Fentress about 8:00am and Azalea flew over Fentress about 9:00am. They did not appear to be there at the same time, but with clear sunny skies today they may have seen each other. There are 21 known nests and probably a couple we have not located. During the breeding season, which is jsut beginning, there may be over 50 bald eagles in southside Hampton Roads at one time.
How interesting this is. I wonder if the eagles ever inbreed? I know neither one will ready for a couple more years. Thanks so much for you update.
Reese, I was reading The Monarch magazine from ODU and saw you mentioned…p. 41. (although they had a typo and you were a “she”) Nice to see all of your hard work credited. I always enjoy reading about the travels of the NBG eagles.
Hi Nancy – Don’t know where ODU got the info. I wrote and asked them when I had had a sex change, That I did not remember having it done,
Well, they didn’t exactly get “all” of the info correctly reported. LOL