Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:04 am Post subject: Epitaph for an Eagle
LEFT - Female eagle in April 2011 shortly before she was killed
One NBG photographer donated that photo, I wish I knew which one.
This female was the NBG male's mate for several years.
In 2012 he did not reproduce.
The bald eagle is the symbol of America. I have often said America has died
Epitaph for an Eagle
April 26, 2011 Tuesday
Bald eagle killed by plane, mate carries on
Male eagle feeds chicks after death of female.
The eagle was part of a nesting pair that has been at the nearby Norfolk Botanical Garden, Virginia since 2003, and was watched by about 16,000 on the Eagle Cam.
Biologist Reese Lukei said the will watch this nest very closely over the coming days to see if male is able to provide regular feeding for the chicks.
Indeed, I am deeply saddened along with the others. I have watched this nest for about 2 months. I watched the eggs hatch.
April 19 issue of ZionsCRY I told you the 3 eaglets would be banded, they were.
The three NBG eaglets are now identified as follows
One WVEC news report said the pair were feeding on the runway. The plane was landing and only the male escaped.
When the male finally returned to the nest with a fish for the babies, he was panting.
While it is normal for eagles to pant to keep cool, he looked upset and frazzled. Poor pappa.
However am I gonna provide for my babies and still watch over them!?
As I watched the nest blog reactions of people who have watched this nest, many school kids, people posted they were crying.
Eagles mate for life. The male will likely seek another mate in the fall.
2011 NBG NEST in photos
The mating, the eggs, the hatchlings, grow, death of female.
Here is a beautiful link from Rhoda, God bless her, of the 2011 NBG year.
Keep hitting the arrow key when your done with the video to see the others
https://picasaweb.google.com/1060...NorfolkEagles#5633452518479851730
NBG EAGLE NEST BANDING HISTORY
Bald eagles Azalea, Camellia and Buddy are siblings, but hatched in different years to the Norfolk eagle pair, of which the female died in 2011.
Buddy hatched in 2008
Azalea hatched in 2009
Camellia hatched in 2010
Nixy (NX officially banded) 2011
THANKS to WVEC TV station for the many thousands of dollars they spent giving us live cam on eagles!
PHOTOs thanks to WVEC, NBG and Wildlife Center of Virginia.
CREDITS Norfolk Botanical Garden (NBG), birth place of these 3 eaglets
Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro raised them
WVEC TV station for live streaming eaglecam to thousands around the world
WVEC TV July 20 video
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sad and difficult decision day for many
DGIF biologists decided that it is in the best interest of the eaglets to remove them from the nest and relocate them to the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
The male eagle brought the babies a fish and fed them Tuesday evening and Wednesday early morning.
Mid-morning he brought a fish and left it, and the eaglets ate it by themselves.
The female's first mate was killed by a plane in 2002 and she took this male as her second mate.
Norfolk Botanical Garden explains removal of babies - 10:00 am April 27, 2011
One option discussed was to leave them and see if the father could continue to raise them alone.
It is possible he could, but it is also very possible he could not continue to provide enough food as they grow and need a higher calorie count.
There was a concern it would reach a point of no return and it would be difficult to remove the eaglets.
It would present the problem of being too late to remove them for their survival. There is a reason it takes two parents to raise the eaglets.
Another option would be to try to foster them out to other nests. That would require finding three nests with eaglets at the exact right age.
There is also the concern the foster parents may reject these eaglets.
DGIF has the legal responsibility for the welfare of these eaglets and has made the decision to remove them, deeming this is in the best interest of the eaglets
The three eaglets will be raised together at WCV. The intention is to release them (they are in good health) so human contact will be minimal.
A tree climber took eaglets gently from the nest, put them safely in a bag, and lowered them to the ground.
Just like the banding day April 21.
Bald eagles Azalea, Camellia and Buddy are siblings, but hatched in different years to the Norfolk eagle pair,
of which the female died in 2011.
Buddy hatched in 2008
Azalea hatched in 2009
Camellia hatched in 2010
Nixy (NX officially banded) 2011
Ed Clark is co-owner of the wildlife center.
I have asked if he draws a salary and never been answered, so my guess is that he is a very wealthy man doing this.
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Last edited by CJ on Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:23 am; edited 5 times in total
Legacy Lady
May 1, 2011
One of the moderators has created this beautiful tribute to the mother eagle who was killed.
They are calling her Legacy Lady. She left 20 babies to carry on her DNA. http://norfolkeagles.com/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=4955
May 27 and 28, 2011 Memorial Day weekend - 2 of the 3 eaglets 'fledged.'
The experts assure me they consider flying from the nest perch a couple feet to a side perch is 'fledging.'
I would not consider this fledging myself, but the experts do. I am NOT an expert.
The birds are in the wildlife center cage, not their natural habitat.
The male was first. He was the last hatched. The oldest female was next. The middle bird has not flown outside the nest as of morning May 29th.
One of them - probably the oldest female - flew to the lower step, then to the floor, then back to the nest. Pretty good!
The nest is about 4 feet off the floor, not 80 feet up a tree.
The 3 eaglets are at
The Wildlife Center of Virginia, a hospital for native wildlife
Waynesboro VA
http://www.wildlifecenter.org
WVEC has a chatroom for the Botanical Garden and the Eaglecam.
Some in the chatroom are very nasty, but some are very nice
The Wildlife Center of Virginia appears to lean Democrat. They use facebook. I DO NOT like facebook and will not use it.
They are very into saving wildlife that might be better off not saved. They do wonderful work tho.
I enjoy their critter cam and blog
http://wildone.org/eaglecam/wildlife-center-web-cam/
June 8, 2011 NV and NX
They are very happy in their new flight pen! They LOVE the water and are fun to watch.
NZ the oldest chipped her leg and is in a cage to rest and heal
WCV photo - Time to catch them to weigh them! NV is in front, wings spread. He is the male and the youngest and the first to fly.
NX is the middle female, fat n lazy. I have not seen her truly fly but others claim they have.
NV flies beautifully! Like a real eagle. Wait .. HE IS a REAL EAGLE!
NZ the oldest female injured her leg and has been in a flight cage to rest. She is healing very well and expected to return with her siblings next week.
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Last edited by CJ on Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:44 pm; edited 2 times in total
ABOVE
June 15, 2011
All 4 on swing perch at the back of the pen.
rat on A perch, half eaten
leaf saying hi to the eaglets
Rub a dub dub, eagle in new large bathtub, water pan
KS bathes allllllllllll by herself.
But she had a bit of a fight to get one of NBG eaglets outta the tub first.
After she was out of the tub she sat on the near Aperch and I could see the lack of tail so know it was KS
---------------------
BEST viewing times are about dawn eastern time, then evening.
The dark at the far end is a net so the flying birds wont hurt themselves over-flying a high perch back there.
The black background is too dark to see the 4 birds perching together on it.
CREDITS
WVEC TV station for live streaming eaglecam to thousands around the world.
Norfolk Botanical Garden, birth place of these 3 eaglets
Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro raised them
WVEC TV July 20 video
--------------- OTHER EAGLES 2011 ------------------------
First Eagle, a female, apparently hit a powerline. Her wing is permanently damaged and she is unable to fly.
She is a breeding female from a pair that have nested on the refuge near our house.
Almost 2 months later we get a second Eagle, a male, from the same refuge.
He has been in a fight with something and has a partial wing amputation. Same wing as the female.
We believe this male eagle may be the mate to the female. Here they are introduced for the first time in the flight pen of the eagle hospital.
The 3 Norfolk Botanical Garden Bald Eagles will be released
Wednesday, July 27 at 11:00 a.m.
at Berkeley Plantation, a historic plantation on the James River.
This is FREE and open to the public.
Berkeley Planation is located on the James River in Charles City, Virginia.
http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/visit.html
This photo was taken July 18, 2011 as one of the eaglets flew in their pen at WCV
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Last edited by CJ on Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:49 pm; edited 2 times in total
Watch Norfolk eaglets return to the wild online or in person
3 young eagles will be returned to the wild later this month and you can join wildlife officials to say goodbye and good luck.
The three were removed from their nest at Norfolk Botanical Garden in late April after their mother was killed by a plane landing at Norfolk International Airport.
They've been cared for at The Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro and people around the world have watched their progress on the WVEC.com Eaglecam.
"Today the three are healthy, can fly, and are ready to go back into the wild – free and on their own," said President Ed Clark.
The release will occur Wednesday, July 27 at 11:00 a.m. at historic Berkeley Plantation on the James River between Williamsburg and Richmond.
Officials say the plantation provides eagle-friendly habitat and is just across the river from the James River National Wildlife Refuge – 4,200 acres of protected land that hosts one of the largest Bald Eagle roosts on the East Coast.
The event is free and open to the public, but officials ask that your RSVP so they know how many people to expect.
"Based on the RSVPs we’ve received to date, we’re expecting folks from 24 states and Canada to be attending the eagle release," Center spokesman Randy Huwa told WVEC.com.
Officials stress you should be prepared for hot weather by dressing in light clothes, wear a hat, sunscreen and bring something to drink, like water.
One of the eaglets will be released just after 12 noon. That will be shown live on 13News @ Noon with reporter/anchor Joe Flanagan reporting live.
WVEC.com is planning to stream the release of all three eaglets beginning at 11:00 a.m.
http://www.wvec.com/my-city/norfo...turned-to-the-wild-125805398.html
WCV to Attach Transmitter to one of these 3 Bald Eaglets
The Wildlife Center of Virginia will be attaching a transmitter to one of the three Bald Eagles being released on July 27th.
The transmitter will allow VDGIF eagle biologists, Wildlife Center staff, and visitors to the Wildlife Center’s website to track the eagle’s travels for up to two years.
http://www.wildlifecenter.org/wp/2011/07/transmitter-bald-eagle
They plan to put the transmitter on the 2nd hatched female NX, the quietest of the 3.
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Last edited by CJ on Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
July 20, 2011 Wednesday dawn
This is a GREAT and encouraging sight!
WCV put live trout in the 2 bath tubs in the pen last nite.
This morning, Not only does NX get the fish out, she keeps it from her thieving little brother! She WILL survive! She is the one WCV will put a tranmitter tracker on.
Eagles in the wild 'mantle' - hunch their wings over their food to guard it and threaten others away.
I have NOT seen these 3 do this mantling until this morning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khJPE0W6bj8&feature=youtu.be
NBG Eaglets, Tuesday July 19
WCV gave eaglets 8 live fish, 4 in each tub. The eaglets will get the general idea of where fish come from and how they should catch them.
The WCV typically provides live prey testing for all raptors prior to release.
The most difficult part of “fish school” is finding ones large enough for the eagles to hunt – while keeping the fish alive!
Fortunately, eagles eat a lot of carrion as well – which doesn’t require any hunting skills.
http://www.wildlifecenter.org/wp/2011/07/nbg-eaglets-tuesday-july19
OVER 1,000 ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND the RELEASE
July 20, 2011 Wednesday weigh-in, blood and feather check
Preparing our 3 friends for release into the wild.
NX did NOT want Dr. Miranda to catch her!
She has realized high on her perch swing, she cant be reached!
Very funny to watch Miranda jump to make her fly, and finally grabbing the rope to un-perch NX.
Quintuple Eagle Release
For the first time in its nearly 30-year history, the Wildlife Center of Virginia will be releasing five Bald Eagles at a single event.
All of these eagles hatched earlier this year.
Most friends of the Wildlife Center were already anticpating a triple eagle release on July 27 – the three young eagles from Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
These eagles have been at the Wildlife Center since April 27.
More details here
http://www.wildlifecenter.org/wp/2011/07/quintuple-eagle-release
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Last edited by CJ on Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:25 pm; edited 1 time in total
Botanical Garden eagles released at Berkeley Plantation
1,200 guests from 22 states and Ontario, Canada had RSVP'd to be at Berkeley Plantation for their release.
Just before they were released NX - one of the eagles was outfitted with a transmitter so researchers can track her for two years.
http://www.wvec.com/my-city/norfolk/Big--126197853.html?qq
BULLETIN
One eaglet failed to launch
NX, the eagle fitted with a transmitter, is being returned to the WCV for a little extra preparation time.
NX is not injured and flying mechanics were good, but she wasn't gaining enough altitude on two flight attempts. She was hot and tired.
http://www.wvec.com/my-city/norfolk/Big--126197853.html?mb
On the blog in the evening, Ed Clark and Amanda, WCV staff, said NX was crabby.
She'd spent too long in the van, was handled too much, was too angry ( angry birds! ), and when Ed was asked who she bit, he replied - she bit everyone she could!
The transmitter is NOT the problem, but all the handling involved and her bad temper exhausted her.
She should be fine to release after a few days rest back in her familiar cage.
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