Nest Update April 15, 2013 - Harmony Arrives!

Travis Frank April 15, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow Hatcharoonians!!

UPDATE : BroadBand Corp made the decision to name the eaglet Harmony to honor both mypete and the events of last year at this nest. Mypete was the glue that promoted “harmony” at this nest as we experienced the trials and tribulations that happened. She would have wanted a memorial like this as it lets us move on from those memories and helps us celebrate new life as the nest is the cradle for another generation of Bald Eagles. We hope you will take this in the spirit it is offered and honor mypete in this way with us. Thank you!

A WONDERFUL DAY at the MN Bound Nest! This morning we saw the pip at the first exchange between Mom and Dad at 7:10am and the day got crazy from there. Upwards of 2700 eagle peeps joined us in watching for any signs of a hatch. Five classes stopped by to add to the maelstrom. We caught a few glimpses of the pip during the day and it seemed to be getting bigger. As the evening rolled around we were almost resigned to waiting until morning to see the new addition. Then at 6:53pm exactly 37 days and 3 hours after being laid, Harmony, our new eaglet was revealed to the world.

Over the next couple of hours the rejoicing was heard all over the eaglesphere! Chatters came from all over to say mazel tov, congrats, happy birthday and many other lovely sentiments. Thanks to all who stopped by and we appreciate all the good thoughts!

SS was moving so fast we needed an instant replay to read the posts! As the evening wore on we were treated to several more shots of Harmony as Mom freed her from the shell remnants. They then both settled in for the night as it got dark. Some peeps of newborn life were heard as Mom adjusted her position after dark.

The mod team did a superb job handling all of the questions, answers, classes, glitches, and general tribulations that go with keeping so many chatters informed in a chat room setting like ours. All hail the best mod team on the net!

On to the vids and such!

First glimpse of the pip early today.

MNBound Eagles We Have a Pip!

Mom gives Dad a nudge to get back on the eggs.

MNBound Eagles Mom Nudges Dad

Dad brought some snacks to the nest late morning

MNBound Eagles Songbird Prey Left on Nest

Next look at the pip and it is larger.

MNBound Eagles Pip Is Larger

Dad brings a stick(a small one!) and the stands guard.

MNBound Eagles Dad Stands Watch

We caught a glimpse of the egg tooth.

MNBound Eagles Small Movement in Pip

First sighting of Harmony! You can almost hear the cheering!

MNBound Eagles 1st Hatch of 2013 Season

Dad looks in on the new arrival.

MNBound Eagles Dad Checks On His New Eaglet

And a last look before the light fails for the day. Night, Harmony!

MNBound Eagles Good Night Little Eaglet

There are lots more stills and such that I do not have room for here out on the web at the various MN Bound related sites. Please click on the link below to the MN Bound Facebook page to get started!

Mich989Razzle wore her fingers to nubs trying to keep up with all the happenings. Disks were spinning and files were being uploaded constantly! She provides us with a wealth of videos today and every day and deserves my, and your, undying thanks for a job well done. THANKS Mich!

And the same thanks go to BroadBand Corp and the team there for the great cam and all the panning and zooming that allowed us to share in this experience together. THANKS BBC!

So, to wrap up this blog about our happy day today I must also say thanks to all our chatters and lurkers for being the best on the net! Thank You, Too!

Hope you had a great day on the nest and we will see you there tomorrow!

TalonStrike

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below or in the chat room. Also, we'll be updating our official MN Bound LIVE Eagles Facebook Page regularly so you can follow along, like, or share with your friends. We have several site moderators this year to help give optimal information to all that want to learn more about these magnificent birds.

We Have A PIP!

Travis Frank April 15, 2013

7:14 am A pip was spotted!

Nest Update April 14, 2013 - Hatchwatch Day 36

Travis Frank April 15, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow Eggpippleologists!

What a day on the nest! As a severe late winter storm rumbled through the nest area we witnessed Mom just trying to protect her eggs. She took the nest about 7pm last night and refused to relinquish her seat throughout the night and day. Dad tried to relieve her a couple of times but she stubbornly denied him. In all, she was on the eggs almost 23 hours straight. The peeps in the SS and chat were worried there might be something amiss but Mom showed us all she is made of very stern stuff indeed. Late afternoon saw Dad bring a carp to the nest and Mom fell for his trick to get her off the eggs. As we watched with breath held and eyes wide we got a glimpse of the eggs. Alas, no pip could be confirmed but several chatters thought we had one. The mods went into consultation and decided that we could not confirm a pip due to no zoom and the quality of the screencaps we could get. There was a dark area on egg #1 that looked promising but we decided to wait as we will have better quality pics in the morning. Who knows, we may be greeted by our first eaglet as the sun rises!

On to the vids and pics! Mich989Razzle put together a very nice vid on Dads eye and all the things it can do. It shows the nictitating membrane and the movement of both outer eyelids. Very interesting stuff!

MNBound Eagle Eye

Not a lot happened during the storm and Mom hardly moved off the eggs. Late afternoon Dad brought her a juicy carp to gorge on.

MNBound Mom Grabs Big Gift Fish

Mom returned to the nest about 7:20 pm and nudged Dad off the eggs again and settled in for the evening.

MNBound Eagles Mom Switches with Dad for the Night

Mom then watched as the storm eased some more and gave us a couple of quick glimpses of the eggs and again we were denied a good opportunity to confirm a pip. Some dark spots were seen on the eggs but not well enough defined to confirm. The vote in the mod lounge was split and in the end it was decided not to confirm the pip.

MNBound Eagles Mom Tucks Eggs in for the Night

A couple of closeups from the vids.

Looked at magnified to pixel level by myself, Razzle, and several other mods the pics leave a lot to the imagination.

We would rather not confirm and be surprised than to get everybody’s hopes up and be wrong. No harm in not confirming except to those that are sure and will not admit they can be fooled by a spot of dirt. We will know positively in the morning!

Thanks to all the new chatters and old friends for making this an enjoyable day on the nest in spite of the weather. And a big thanks to all the mods for their dedication and hard work in keeping things orderly and informative in both Chat and the Social Stream. You guys ROCK!

Hope you had a great day on the nest and we will see you there tomorrow!

TalonStrike

Nest Update April 13, 2013 - Hatchwatch Day 35

Travis Frank April 13, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow Pippletoonians!

OK, whose eyes are sore from trying to see a pip today??? (Raises hand) I am sure there is a lot of Visine being used tonight as we all rest our eyes from staring at our monitors. Things were hopping in the Social Stream today and we opened Chat to take some of the overload. A good day was had by all in both rooms today. The mods fingers are sore from answering all the questions that come from being on PipWatch. Many egg closeups were snapped and all were checked for any sign of a pip. Alas, not one was to be found. Well, tomorrow is another day. We are on the eagles time now and when it happens we will all rejoice.

Dad was the star again of the only video we have today. He showed off some of his perches to the crowd and did some tidying of the nest. He got up on his throne perch and surveyed his kingdom. It’s good to be the top predator! At the end he flies off to Sticks Depot to see if his special order came in.

MNBound Eagles Dad Knows It's Pip Watch

As I said earlier egg screencaps abounded. I’ll just post a few here.

Hmmm No pip here.

Nor here.

Not here either! Oh Well!

And a pic of Mom from early this morning. Think she knows we are watching???

We had a few teachers stop by today. They all said their classes loved to watch the nest with us. We offered to set them up with a time so that they could have us answer questions for them directly. They were very enthusiastic about the chance to do this. We love to have classes visit the nest.

Teachers: If you are a teacher and want to schedule time with us for some personal interaction on the nest please email us at: eaglecam@broadband-mn.com with your request and your contact details and we will get back to you ASAP. We love to have classes visit and we will make time for yours to have some up closeup time with the eagles. The hatch is happening and it will get busy these next few weeks so schedule your time now. You can even make it a weekly thing if you want to so you and your students can have an ongoing lesson on eagles.

All in all, it was a good day to PipWatch. We had fun and will have some more tomorrow as we wait on eagle time to catch up with us.

Hope you had a great day on the nest and we will see you there tomorrow!

TalonStrike

Nest Update April 12, 2013 - Hatchwatch Day 34

Travis Frank April 13, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow PipWatchers!

Yes its True! We started PipWatch today. It was an unfruitful day as far as pipwatching goes but we had a great day on the nest anyway! The mods donned there pipped avatars and kept a close eye on things as we were joined by chatters and lurkers from all over the eaglesphere. Discussion was lively and excitement peaked every time there was a chance to see the eggs.

The day started snowy and cold again today. Mom had a fresh fish breakfast thanks to Dad (nom nom nom Walleye! yum) and he took over incubating duties while she abated her hunger.

MNBound Eagles Dad Brings Live Fish For Mom

The snow started to melt and Mom and Dad each spent some time on the nest. BBC did several great panning sessions and zoom-ins for us. They even followed Dad as he flew off to the compost facility. He didn’t bring back any that time but he did bring some dry grass earlier for Mom to cover up with. Dad was kinda the star of the show today and Razzle made a video all about him.

MNBound Eagles All About Dad

Lots of screencaps were captured today. For a moment or two we were a goose cam, a Great Blue Heron cam and a news cam as a police cruiser went speeding by on the highway south of the nest with sirens blaring. Dad did several regal poses for us and even showed his take-off technique. We watched as he kept guard from his favorite perch to the left of the nest.

Checking out the neighbors.

Whatchu lookin’ at??

Dad shows his takeoff technique.

Mom looks at Dad like “ What are you posing for?”

Well ??

Dad on his fave perch watching the neighbors

Great Blue Heron cam

Goose Cam

Dad in takeoff mode in the nest

Like I said many great snaps today. You can find more at the MN Bound Facebook page. Click the link below to get there.

So, even though we didn’t have a pip today it was another great day at the MN Bound nest. Thanks go to many today Mick989Razzle, the mods, the eagles and especially BBC for all the great panning and solving the cam problems as they occurred. Thanks!

Hope you had a great day on the nest and we will see you there tomorrow!

TalonStrike

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