Nest Update June 7, 2013 - RumbleFish Friday!

June 8, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow NestWrestlers!!

Hmmm. Well, it had to happen sometime! Harmony and Peace had their first sibling spat today. The day started with a late breakfish around 10:20 am. The kids were really hungry by then and made short work of the fish Dad brought in. They then settled in for what has become the routine this week, i.e. wingersizing, standing guard, moving things in the nest, and napping. About 4pm Peace decided she wasn’t tired any more and started playing with a chunk of something she found. She was sitting right above Harmony’s tail and she proceeded to drop said chunk on her sibling several times all while H was giving her dirty looks. She gave up on the chunk and proceeded to groom Harmony’s feathers while getting more dirty looks. At the end of this episode she finally decided to nap again and lay down on Harmony’s tail which wasn’t received well either. A little while later after her nap Peace was playing with a cornstalk and dropped it on Harmony’s tail several times. H finally rose to her full sitting position and gave Peace a stare. Peace tried to nip at Harmony and the rumble was on! A left, a right, a left, a bonk, a nip with each one giving as good as they got. It lasted about 10 seconds and is the most movement we’ve seen out of these two in weeks. Afterward, Peace went and sulked at the edge of the nest while Harmony sat proud in the middle of the nest. Harmony then proceeded to wingersize and give Peace a few more whacks. Things settled down for a few minutes until Mom came to the nest with some grass and Harmony tried to mantle it hoping it was supper. No such luck. Mom came back about 2 hours later with some kind of mystery fish and the kids finally got their dinner. As the darkness fell things had settled down for the night and the crickets and frogs sang Harmony and Peace a lullaby.

On to the pics and vids!

Peace plays while Harmony tries to nap.

MNBound Eaglets My Kid Brother

Harmony decides she has had enough and the Rumble in the Cottonwood is on!

MNBound Eaglets When Push Comes to Shove

Harmony is hungry and will mantle anything.

MNBound Eaglets Harmony Mantling

And a selection of pics from the day.

Well, we either have a bug on the lens or this is Land of the Giants.....

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Hey! Where's the FISH??

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Put that cookie right here!!

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Now, if they'll just give me an opening.....

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Aaaahh! Success!!

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Dad's showing off again!

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Hey! That was below the belt!!

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Isn't that nice! Your boss has Friday off!

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If you have been following along (and I hope you have) you will have noticed I refer to both eaglets as she. I do not know that they are females. I just feel more comfortable with the feminine pronoun because of their names. Eagle gender can only be determined by measurements and a DNA test and we will probably never know what gender Peace and Harmony are. Last year we had Kirby and Harmon and everyone referred to them as males. It’s only fitting we give the fairer gender equal time this year.

A nip of the beak to Razzle and BBC for the wonderful pics and vids today! Thanks!

Hope you had a great Friday on the nest and we’ll see you here 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.

Nest Update June 6, 2013 - Typical Thursday!

June 6, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow RiparianResters!!

That’s what the kids were today. Resters. Harmony and Peace spent more time prone today than anything else. Oh, they got up for meals, the occasional wingwhap, a little nestorizing and some beak play now and then. But, most of the day was spent watching their world from their bellies. They had fish for breakfast (we really need to get them some bacon or sausage to start the day) and a small rabbit late morning. The pond area lost another small avian today (gosling again, that makes 8 now) so Harmony and Peace could have dinner late afternoon. In case you haven’t noticed the eagles are playing a new game. It’s called Nip the Toes and it goes like this. Dad brings some food to the nest. Mom rushes down to meet him and snatch the food away.The kids nip at the parents feet to see if the food tastes good. The funny thing about this game is Harmony and Peace now nip at Mom and Dad’s feet whenever they land whether they have food or not. Just trying to cover all the bases, I guess. As evening deepened the kids lay down again and watched as the stars came out and the light faded from the sky. All was well on the nest.

On to the vids and pics of the day.

Harmony decides that a cornstalk is hers and lets Mom know it.

MNBound Eaglets I Has A Cornstalk

It’s trampoline time on the nest!

MNBound Eaglets Watch Me Bounce

And a selection of pics of the day.

Dad gets some eye bling!

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Foot Nippies!

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YeeHaw!

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I don't know, Peace. It looks OK to me.

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Your boss is still behind you!

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Mom's got nothin' on me!!

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Now, what did Mom tell you??

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A clip of the corncob to Razzle and BBC for the great pics and vids again today. Thanks!

Hope you had a great Thursday and that Friday will be even better!

See you here tomorrow!

Talonstrike

Nest Update June 5, 2013 - Wacky Wednesday

June 6, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow WingWhappers!!

Wednesday on the nest was quite a bit more lively the the previous day. Rain threatened early but spared the nest area. There was even talk of a slight chance of tornados but nothing ever came of it. Wish those weather guys could be more accurate. Harmony and Peace started their day with another aquatic denizen for breakfish. After noshing on fish they had a little OSD contest with a stick from the rails. Mom brought some new mattress stuffing to the nest and Harmony practiced food grabbing by biting Mom’s toes on the way in. The kids helped spread it out and stomp it down and then proceeded to try it out. It seemed to be working for them as their naps were long and tranquil. They also took care of the rest of their to-do list for the day. They sunned, exercised, ate, tried on some fish scale bling, fixed up a rail, and a few more things. Late afternoon Dad came in with another avian snack and Mom practically raced him to the nest to receive it. She gave the kids a demo of a perfect mantle as Dad skedaddled out of there. A little bit later Dad delivered a nice fish and again she raced him onto the nest. She must have been really hungry today. The kids topped up their crops and got ready for bed. As darkness fell they were sleeping peacefully and Mom was vigilant nearby.

On to the pics and vids!

The kids exercise their OSD tendencies.

MNBound Eaglets Playing Pick Up Sticks

Harmony bites the talon that feeds her.

MNBound Eaglets The Last Straw

The kids get their chores done.

MNBound Eaglets Today's To-Do List

Mom’s perfect mantle and a gosling? snack.

MNBound Eaglets Mom Mantles Prey Delivery

And a selection of pics from the day.

Mom doesn't like you wearing her bling!

Ok kids! THIS is how you mantle!

Jeeez kid, it's only grass!

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Does your boss know what you're doing??? Hmmm?

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Thats a lot of work on your desk!

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Glad she's over there!

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Your boss is behind you!! Ooops!

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A tap of the twig to Razzle and BBC for the great vids and pics today. Thanks!

Hope you had a happy Hump Day on the nest and the rest of your week goes well!

See you here tomorrow!

Talonstrike

Nest Update June 4, 2013 - Tuesday Tedium

June 5, 2013

Good Evening, Fellow NestWashers!!

The morning arrived wet and windy after all the goings on yesterday. The kids got a bath and the nest was washed clean of all the leftovers from the day before. Mom and Dad fed Harmony and Peace several times but todays feeds were much more sedate than Monday’s. The kids took turns standing guard with one up and one sleeping. Even that ceased about mid-afternoon when Peace had the duty and abandoned her post for the pleasures of dreamland. I went out for a couple of hours ( I know. Leave the nest? Blasphemy!) and when I came back the cam was down. When it came back up Peace and Harmony were in the same positions as when I left. They must have been real tuckered out from yesterday’s excitement. The evening was more of the same and as darkness fell Mom came back to the nest to sit with the kids.

The slow nature of the day on the nest was contrasted by the discussions in the Social Stream. Some of the other nests available for viewing on the ‘Net have been having more than their share of troubles this year. Chatters were especially upset today with a report that an eaglet had died from sibilicide at a nest in Maine. Some chatters were saying” Why doesn’t somebody rescue him?” or “ Shouldn’t somebody help him?” Or “Why do we donate all this money to wildlife cams if they aren’t going to help?”

Fellow devoted nest watchers, we are but observers here. Nature in it’s clear quill, 100 proof raw form can be brutal and sad. The outcomes at every nest are not going to be perfect. We came within about 2 seconds of having a very bad episode on this nest a few nights ago. Only Mom’s vigilance and speed kept that from happening. As the number of nests available to view increases (and there are more every year) the more we will witness scenes that are hard for us to watch and understand. As we watch we tend to think of these wild animals in human terms. This makes it all the harder to take when something does go wrong. The urge to interfere is a strong one and is most often the wrong choice.

But Talon, you say, what about Harmon?? Truth be told, I was not in favor of his rescue. I thought that nature should take its course. Being in the minority I kept that opinion to myself. People tend to forget Harmon was about 10 minutes away from being a captive and possibly un-releasable eagle when Dad landed on the nest. That to me would have been worse than any other fate that could have befallen him. In conclusion, I would just like to remind everyone again that we are only observers here. Please respect and enjoy nature as it comes to us on these cams.

It was such a slow day there are no vids and just a few pics.

Can I trust you two to guard the nest??

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This guard duty thing is boring! Wanna take turns??

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I hate losing at Sod, Feather, Talon!!

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ZZZZZZ!

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A bop of the branch to Razzle and BBC for the pics today! Thanks!

I hope your Tuesday was an enjoyable one and we’ll see you on the nest tomorrow!

TalonStrike

Nest Update June 3, 2013 - Monday Mayhem

June 3, 2013

Good Evening, NestRiotSquadders!!

It was an almost riot on the nest today. So much went on I despair of including it all here. It started at dawn with Mom chasing one of the squirrels off the big branch across from the nest. Next came breakfish on the nest with Mom crashing the party about halfway through, knocking Dad off the nest and losing a wing feather in the process. Peace had possession of the food but Mom took it back and finished feeding the kids. Later in the morning a fish was delivered that Harmony thought was hers. Harmony and Mom battled over pieces of the fish and Harmony even swallowed the tail whole. Peace waited patiently and was rewarded by Mom as Harmony tried to consume a large piece she took from Mom. Some other small snacks (more fish and a gosling or baby duck) were delivered also. Next up on the menu was a defeathered duck (sorry, chatters, it was not a coot) with gray webbed feet. After consuming it one of the gray feet became the object of a tug-o-war between H&P. It was fun watching them vie for possession. Eventually one of the P’s came to the nest, ate the webbed foot and put an end to the contest for possession. In between all this eating Harmony and Peace had lots of time for wingersizing, beakering and general mayhem on the nest. Peace also honed her OSD skills with a small branch borrowed from Dad’s stash. All in all, it was a very busy Monday on the nest and a pleasure to watch.

On to the vids and pics!

Mom crashes the breakfish party!

MNBound Eagles Breakfast Scramble