Trapped Eaglet Update

FRIDAY - 10:39 AM

At this time we are doing everything we can to help the trapped eaglet.  Here's an update to help you understand what needs to happen. 

We have been in contact with the Raptor Center, the Eagle Center and the USFWS.  All three of these parties are aware of the situation and doing everything possible to help.  But, it's not as simple as flying up into the tree and saving the bird.

First, the USFWS has to issue a permit to go up into the tree.  We obtained the orginal permit to bring you this webcam, and we have to obtain additional permits to interfere with the nest.  At the moment, we are still waiting to hear back from them.

The Raptor Center is waiting to get clearance from the USFWS.  At this time, it looks favorable that we will get clearance.  Once they get clearance, we will come to our decision on how to proceed.  We are very lucky to have The Raptor Center involved and monitoring this situation.  They are exceptional at these kinds of things. 

We believe that a trained climber will then climb up 75 feet and free the bird.  What happens next is unknown.  If they feel that the eaglet isn't healthy enough to survive, they may bring it back to the center to help nurture its growth.   We won't know until they are in the nest with the bird. 

All of this depends on the USFWS and approval to move forward. 

We will update you as more information becomes available.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.  We are doing all that we can.

Aware

Please note that all interested parties are aware of the eaglets current condition.  We are watching and concerned  as are you.

 We will continue to monitor the situation. We are also in communication with various officials to determine the best course of action.  We will update you as we know more.

 

What was that!

While watching the cam yesterday I watched one of the eagles look like it was going to cast a pellet. What is a pellet?

Let's learn.

Eagles are carnivores. They don’t eat any plant material at all - no fruits or veggies for eagles! They get everything they need from the prey they consume. Typically, eagles eat the entire animal - the meat, bones, organs and even the fur or feathers. Eagles make very efficient use of their food, breaking down nearly everything to get the nutrients and energy they require.

An eagle’s stomach acid is very acidic with a pH close that of battery acid. With such strong stomach acids, they are actually able to digest even quite large bones. This is an important way the eagles get the calcium they need.

The only part of the prey that eagles can’t digest is the fur or feathers. About 12-18 hours after eating prey with fur or feathers an eagle will cough up, or cast, a pellet.  A pellet is a compact bundle of indigestible material formed in the stomach/gizzard and covered with mucus. The fur or feathers in the pellet have little nutritional value to the eagle.

Owls are another raptor that cast pellets. However, owl pellets look a little different than an eagle pellet. Owls also typically consume whole prey like a mouse. But, an owl’s stomach acid is not quite as strong, so most of the bones are undigested along with the fur. So an owl pellet contains all the bones of the prey item. One cool thing to do is dissect the pellet and find out just what that owl’s been eating!

The eagle that I was watching did not cast a pellet, but was starting the contraction like movement that would bring a pellet up. Have you seen one of the eagles cast a pellet?

Eaglet has died from fall

We webcam watchers have unfortunately learned what growing up can be like for an eaglet.  The eaglet that wandered too close to the edge of the nest and fell, did not survive the fall.

It would be very easy to just sit back and let nature take its course, whatever happens, happens, but that is not what was done. Because so many people care about this pair of eagles, we went to see if we could help this baby eaglet. Surviving a 70 foot fall for such a small creature would be very difficult.

 It was.

 If the eaglet was still alive it would have been taken immediately to The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. There they would have done what they could for this creature. We are lucky to live so close to this World Class Raptor facility, they would have known exactly what to do. This was not to be.

We are watching what happens all the time in Nature. 

Some good,

Some bad,

Some ugly,

Some beautiful,

Some disturbing,

Some awe inspiring,

Some sad,

All of it is Nature.

 Nature happens all around us all the time, many of us are too busy to stop and notice. Thankfully though, through this web cam, we get to learn a little more about the lives of our National Emblem the Bald Eagle, and,this includes whatever happens to it, in its natural habitat, Nature.

We will discuss in a future blog topic, some of the other hazzards eaglets and eagles can face. What and when we can help, and when and where we may not be able to.  We will also discuss issues that are affecting eagles that we can put our time and emotion into, to help all eagles, and Nature.