Grace At Pungo Lake Feb 17, 2015
February 18, 2015Grace Exploring Alligator River NWR Feb 24, 2015
February 25, 2015
Grace has flown east into Dare County, NC to the same location along NC Route 64 west of Manns Harbor that she visited in late Nov and early Dec. As of this satellite map Grace is on the edge of a farm field south of Rt 64 – White arrow Feb 21 at 8:00am.
6 Comments
hope you are finding plenty to eat “big girl”..away from the landfills…,,Thank you Reese
If I may ask a Q not related to ‘your’ eagles, I’d be very grateful. After losing NBG & Richmond online viewing years ago, I found a new ‘home’ at MNBound’s nest. This year, the male appears different than before, and we’re trying to figure out if it’s the same eagle. He has ‘new’ dark feathers — both in his tail & on his head — that we’ve never seen before. When an adult eagle loses his white feathers, do they ever grow back in a darker color (black/grey)? He, also, has other difference in his appearance — but, the color of these feathers is the reason I am reaching out to you for possible answers . I’ll never forget the time I spent with all the folks involved w/ my first two nests — and, I thank you for all that you did to enrich our nest watching experience. Thank you! Barbara Tignor
Barbara – I have never heard of an eagle replacing adult feathers with dark feathers. I will try to look at the MN Bound site tomorrow.
Oh, Mr. Lukei — thank you! The best way to tell (other than the ‘new’ dirty tail of the male) the male from the female is that the female has grey feathers over her eye, extending from the beak & back quite a bit towards her head. We say she is ‘wearing grey eye shadow’. 🙂 Their first egg of the season arrived yesterday — so, hopefully, you’ll have no trouble seeing them both on the nest. Thank you so very much! Very Gratefully Yours, BJTignor
P.S. The ‘new’ black feathers of the male appear not only on his tail, but on the crown of his head, also. The previous male did have one dark feather on his ‘forehead’ — as this one does — but did not have any dark ‘spots’ on other parts of the head. Thanks, again! BJT
Barbara – The BE on the nest this morning is an advanced Basic IV/Subadult IV – nearly 5 years old. The dark feathers in the crown of the head and the dark tips of the retrices (tail feathers). Also the pale yellow iris of the eyes.
Thank you so, much, Reese. What do I tell the others — and, how? Any suggestions on how to handle this news would be appreciated. Our dear ‘old’ Dad has likely perished, right? We have no mods to break this news to us.
Barbara – Nature is what it is. Straight talk is best. No need to sugar coat what appears to be obvious. Possible that the female just replaced the male. Last years male may have lost out to the younger male. Just no way to really know unless someone was witness.
I just responded to your email. Words cannot express my gratitude — truly. BJT