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Eagle
Nest Diaries 2003
 This
page is part of our Eagle Nest Diaries
series that began in 2002 and continued in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.The following photos were taken on an INHF project site along the Upper Iowa River in
2003. By protecting this land, INHF members also protected a bald
eagle pair's nest. The photos below show the eagle parents raising
eaglets in that nest. The photos were taken with a high-powered
lens by Mary Ellen Leicht.
April
19-20, 2003:
The
eagle pair returns.
 Proud parents--again.
As
generally happens with a successful nesting site, the eagle pair
has returned again to the same nest to raise their young.
Eagles
are very protective of their nest during nesting season. They
will often keep other eagles one or two square miles away from
their nest.
Our
author has seen a couple of other eagles in the area. There is
another nest a few miles away conveniently located near a fish
hatchery.
 This year there are THREE
babies!
Last
year, the eagle couple had one eaglet but this year it appears the
pair is raising not one, but three, babies. Eagles typically lay
one to three eggs. According to the photographer and friends,
"They are very different in size.... The biggest baby got
fed the most by far--our hearts went out to the tiniest baby as
it did not get fed at all on some of the feedings. Even when the
parent tried to feed it, the chunks of food seemed to be the biggest
chunks offered to any of the babies and it was impossible for
the little one to get its mouth around it. It was the best of
nature and the survival-of-the-fittest side of nature all in one.
There was also a lot of sparring going on between the big baby
and a smaller one: beaks open trying to 'neck wrestle' or bite
on each other, just like kids fighting and bickering and 'Don't
cross over this line, this is my part of the nest' activities.
Even when an adult was sitting on them, the adult would move around
or half stand up--like they were squirming around a lot underneath
her/him. (Both adults took turns for 2-3 hours at a time on the
nest.)"
Dinnertime
According
to the photographer and friends, "We watched the parents
feed the babies three or four times each day. Saturday's menu
was primarily squirrel and Sunday morning it was leftover squirrel.
Sunday afternoon it was fish. We could see the fish laying on
the edge of the nest Sunday morning, but they finished up the
squirrel before they touched the fish."
 On patrol
According
to the photographer and friends, "One time a turkey flew
up into a pine tree close to the nest. Before it even hardly landed,
the eagle that was not on the nest flew from out of nowhere to
chase it away. The crows and eagles would hassle each other at
times, but no real threats. Turkey vultures were soaring overhead
on Sunday, and the eagles just ignored them, too."
 Family portrait
Bald
eagles mate for life, but if a partner should die, the other won't
be reluctant to find another mate. It appears this eagle couple
has been observed before. If you look closely, you can see that
the eagle in back still has leg-bands. The photographer and friends
have been able to read a couple digits off the bands, but we still
don't have a 100% identification. We'll let you know if/when we
do.
April
23, 2003:
All
animals eat; all siblings fight.
 Feeding time
An
adult eagle reaches to feed one of the eaglets... The bald eagle
diet consists of mainly fish. They will eat salt water or fresh
water fish, which explains why bald eagles live throughout North
America and why they can be found around lakes and rivers in Iowa.
Typically, eagles have a wide hunting range, but if they are located
near a good hunting area, such as the Upper Iowa River, they tend
to hunt closer to the nest. Eagles will eat small animals too.
They are scavengers and will take
advantage of decaying animals.
 Neck wrestling
Some
say only their children fight, but apparently so do eagle babies.
If you look closely, you can tell the little eaglets are wrestling
with their necks as the adult looks on. Though the eaglets are
clearly playing here, they can become more serious. It is not
uncommon for older eaglets to eat younger babies, especially if
they vary in size, as our author noted before. We are glad they
are only playing in this photo.
April
25, 2003:
Mom
and Dad return
 Welcome home
Before baby eaglets hatch,
there is always one parent in the nest to incubate the eggs and
protect them from predators. The parents share incubation obligations
for about 35 days. The female spends more time in the nest than
the male. When the eaglets have newly hatched the female spends
almost all of her time devoted to the them and stays in the nest
with them. But eventually she shares hunting duties with the male.
April
2003:
ALAS!
Nature takes its course.
Unfortunately
our once happy and healthy eaglets are missing. According to our
photographer and friends, it appears survival of the fittest has
afflicted our eaglets this year. A source at the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources believes the eagle's babies were another
animal's lunch while the adults were away. The source suggested
it was probably an owl.
NOTE: If you should find
an eagle's nest, do not approach or bother the birds. Stay at
least 400 yards (four football fields) away from the nest. Otherwise,
the adult eagles may abandon their nest and their eggs. If the
adults are even flushed from the nest during spring's cold, wet
weather, the nestlings can become quickly chilled and die. Consequently,
we are not revealing the exact location of this nest.
2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / Eagle FAQs
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