Aquila chrysaetos 2010-2022

Ah dear. I made many screenshots of these European pine marten (Martes martes) meals, of which there were two today! We didn't get to observe the first one brought in, whose legs set propped up against the camera for much of the day. We're now up to three pine martens. Color me fascinated (idiom alert).

Here is Mom's arrival and the previously mentioned light feathering on her left wing can be viewed.



Isn't Mom stunning? The patterning in the feathers on her nape are exquisite. She has to be among the most gorgeous golden eagles I've ever seen. What I mean to draw our attention to is the meat at her feet, however. As Johan pointed out, we can see the buff-colored throat that is characteristic of this species.



In this image, we can see the lower jaw bone and teeth of a carnivore. Interestingly, Mom tossed these aside rather than gobbling them down like the other bones. Is it the teeth that dissuade her? Will she devour them later?



Another round of spaghetti-like fun with marten intestines!



Rich, dark organ meat.



Okay. Now, here is what confused me with the very first pine marten. Note the light-colored paw pads. This is what we expect on a marten, and so I wondered if the difference we were seeing was regional. This clarifies that, no, it is not a regional difference. A mutation? A mystery.



And on to Pine Marten #2. Mom helpfully holds it up for us to learn proper dimensions with comparison to her own.



This one's pads do look a little, tiny bit darker. Still not quite like the first fellow, though.



A Happy Nest.



Apex predator impacts on mesopredators is a fascinating area of study. The evidence is mounting that through predation on mesopredators and herbivores alike, apex predators ensure the ecosystems they are a part of remain green and biodiverse. When people have destroyed predators, ecosystems see an artificial rise in prey species who then put unnatural levels of pressure on plant communities, degrading habitat for all. The pressures that mesopredators put on their prey also artificially increases when apex predators are removed. Ecosystems did not evolve to be free of their top predators thus the results can be disastrous. It begins to unravel. The apex predators themselves are generally highly territorial beings who self-regulate their own numbers. These are not herd animals that can share space with potentially hundreds of their own kind. Put simply, this is how it is all able to balance out. It is immensely beautiful from my point of view.

Good morning all! I came back live.

2021-06-12

Today we heard dogs barking and people yelling. Later in the evening at 21:52:07 what sounded like gunshots rang out, and again at 22-06-48. Not only are golden eagles sensitive to disturbance, human and dog presence has the real potential to make hunting poor as well. Always a concern, but when the camera tuned in this morning, the eaglet's crop was not completely empty at least.



And later, Mom dragged what appeared to be another hooded crow (Corvus cornix) out of the woodwork. The screenshots are poor, though in motion we could see that the foot of this prey appeared to match that of the previous two crows. For whatever reason, while this behavior seemed to indicate that Mom was considering feeding her eaglet, she ultimately was unmotivated to do so. Soon she left again, and we all hoped new prey would be brought back, but talons were empty upon her return. This easily may not be from lack of trying.




In lighter news, there was also a lovely shed rectrix or tail feather in the nest. Another reminder of the season of molt.

More shots fired: 22:07:09. And at 22:29:18. 22:54:43. 22:54:52. 22:56:16. 22:56:40. 22:57:00. 22:57:08. 23:07:51. 23:17:39. 23:28:36. 23:29:50. 23:30:47. 23:42:04. I'll edit this if we hear more.

Raven wrote:More shots fired: 22:07:09. And at 22:29:18. 22:54:43. 22:54:52. 22:56:16. 22:56:40. 22:57:00. 22:57:08. 23:07:51. 23:17:39. 23:28:36. 23:29:50. 23:30:47. 23:42:04. I'll edit this if we hear more.

All these sounds are the sounds of firecrackers fired by people from the sheepfold to drive away bears that threaten sheep and cows. Voices are the screams of shepherds to scare bears.

Thank you, Stelian. After being able to relax knowing all that racket last night was non-lethal techniques (thankfully) to keep bears from livestock, what is known as "passive disturbance" (an existing human development fixed permanently or semi-permanently on the landscape), I set about attempting to answer another question. The age of Mom and Dad. The molted white-based flight feather in the nest today was a focal point, eliciting this question in my mind.

In footage and photography of the local pair raising a single eaglet in 2015, we can see by their rectrices that these were fully mature golden eagles. There is no white in their flight feathers.

Examples: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=864391666931201
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=864391726931195
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=864391743597860
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=864391743597860
And in this video at about 10:20 minutes in when the parents are having a spat, you can just make out that no white is to be seen in their tail feathers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNu_5drtq8c

In other words. The pair raising this year's eaglet is not the same pair from 2015. Something happened to those eagles and the territory was freed up. I would like some help in obtaining more screenshots of the new family's spread tail feathers if anyone is willing to keep an eye out. I went through all the recorded streams today, scanning through when Mom (and once Dad) alighted or took off at the nest (some luck), or when Mom was stretching and/or preening (no luck).

Here is what I have. Not great, but it's a start. Both parents still have extensive white-based tail feathers, and Mom still has a couple white-based flight feathers in her wing. These are sub-adults.

Dad.



Mom.





How to age golden eagles: https://www.aba.org/birding_archive_files/v36n3p278.pdf
Golden eagle tails: https://hawkwatch.org/blog/item/1034-golden-eagle-tails
How to age a golden eagle by its tail: https://avianreport.com/how-to-age-a-golden-eagle/

This could easily be their first eaglet of all time. Second at most.

Thank you @Raven for your clarification. Very good, and very interesting!

12:37
The long-awaited dad did visit the nest today and brought the prey, he was still afraid of an alien camera object, but already less scared

Roma wrote:

12:37
The long-awaited dad did visit the nest today and brought the prey, he was still afraid of an alien camera object, but already less scared

I assured you that the chicken's father was always close to providing game food by the nest. Today he dared to come to the nest.

Papa Eagle, a near mythical figure at this nest. May we enjoy his presence more often.



After his short if slightly calmer visit, to maintain balance after turning around to leave, he lifted his tail feathers. They are not spread out, but marbling is visible. At least one feather resembles the shed rectrix in the nest on June 12th (screenshot in earlier post) with a solid region of white.



I will type out by hand pertinent text from a more in depth study for those who cannot easily read English, and wish to get into the weeds as they say.

Source with more pictures and diagrams therein: http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/bloomclarkageingges.pdf

Copied text begins and ends in quotes: "Flight feathers are referred to by primary (P) or secondary (S) number. Primaries are numbered from the innermost outward and secondaries from the outermost inward, with P1 being the inner and P10 the outer primary, and S1 the outer and S14 the inner secondary (S15-17 are tertiaries). Tail feathers are numbered in pairs, with T1 being the central pair and T6 the outer pair; they are further distinguished as left or right.

All eagles were assigned a BBL age class of Hatching Year (HY), Second Year (SY), Third Year (TY), Fourth Year (FY or 4Y), After Fourth Year (AFY or A4Y), or After Fifth Year (AFFY or A5Y)."


I suspect this one didn't scan well, so the new feathers don't stand out as well as indicated, unfortunately. It reads: "7. Basic III Golden Eagle. Three ages of primaries are noticeable, with P10 new. Note the darker color of P10 compared to P8, that P7 is new, and the P1 and P2 are also new. Usually all secondaries are adult-like with grayish marbling and dark tips (but can show some white at bases), however, juvenile S9 (and others) can sometimes be retained. (Chris Cogan)"


It reads, with a minor correction: "8. Basic III Golden Eagle. New tail feathers have little or no white on their bases, especially T1 and T6; old feathers show white bases. Note that there are no juvenile tail feathers. (PHB)"

"Basic III Plumage (Photos 7-8; see also plate GE03 in Wheeler and Clark 1995). This plumage is distinguished by the presence of three ages of primary feathers, usually with the outer primary (P10) being new (Fig. 14b, Photo 7), by the lack (usually) of juvenile secondaries, and by the lack of white basal areas in new tail feathers, T1 and T6 (Photo 8 ). Eye color at this age can begin changing to yellowish-brown.



Some older secondaries could still show white on their bases, but newly replaced ones will not. New T1 are almost completely dark and adult-like, and new T6 have completely dark edges (Photo 8 ). Other tail feathers may also lack white bases, but at least a few tail feathers retained from previous molts will show white areas at bases. We believe that it is not always possible to distinguish some advanced Basic III eagles from some Basic IV eagles (delayed first plumage adults). Basic III Golden Eagles are aged as FY until 31 December and FFY (Fifth year) after 1 Jan (Fig. 1).



Predefinitive Molt. The fourth annual molt begins in March and April. All new feathers are adult, lacking white on their bases. Golden Eagles undergoing their predefinitive molt are aged in BBL terms as FFY (Fig. 1).

Adult (Definitive Basic) Plumage (see plates GE01-02 in Wheeler and Clark 1995). This plumage is easily recognizable and is characterized by the lack of white ares on the bases of tail or flight feathers. All flight feathers have grayish marbling and dark tips. Dark feather tips form a dark band on the trailing edge of the wing. All tail feathers have grayish marbling. Eye color is hazel, golden-yellow, or yellowish-brown. A 20-year old recaptured male contained numerous tiny flecks in an otherwise golden yellow eye, and no white in the flight or tail feathers. Adult Golden Eagles are aged in BBL terms as AFY from July to 31 Dec and as AFFY from 1 Jan through June (Fig. 1).

Discussion. ...We have shown that Golden Eagles in each of the four immature annual plumages, Juvenile and Basic I to Basic III, can be distinguished as to age class by close inspection of characters on the flight and tail feathers. These characters are most easily seen on their undersides but also are evident on the uppersides. Juvenile and adult Golden Eagles are easy to age; juveniles show no molt and have black and white tail, with no gray marbling in black of tail, and adults have no white on the tail or wings. With a moderate amount of experience, Basic I eagles also are readily identifiable, as they show only two ages of quite different feathers. Basic II and Basic III eagles are more difficult to distinguish (see Figs. 14a and 14b showing the same eagle in Basic II and III plumages). With study and care, these can usually be separated; however, some advanced Basic III eagles cannot be distinguished safely from delayed first plumage adults (Basic IV) and should be aged conservatively as ATY. Table 1 provides a quick reference summary for the ageing characters for Golden Eagles in hand."



Subadults can breed: "Golden Eagles have bred successfully with substantial white retained on the base of their tail feathers (Teresa 1980, Steenhof et al. 1983)

I want to note this CAVEAT. A deviation from the general rule. Exceptions are always possible. "As some first-plumage adults can still show small white areas on the base of a few tail feathers, and as known-age captive eagles have shown this character for more than 20 years in presumed adult plumage (Jollie 1947), it is probably not safe to age them as Basic III or Basic IV based on this character alone."

Does anyone else's brains hurt? Heh. All we can really say for certain until and if we can observe the progression of molting, is that these are not the same pair from 2015. Mature eagles with normal adult marbling that lack white feather-bases never molt out and reacquire immature feathering. The rare exceptions may retain a small amount of white at the base of tail feathers, but adults who have acquired normal adult plumage have never been observed to revert to immature plumage. Also, Mom still has at least a couple white-based remiges (wing).

When was the last year that the 2015 pair raised an eaglet? 2016? 2017? Curious.

Phew. Was hiking all day, so going to rush the menu.

Papa brought the kid a songbird of some feather. Wish I knew which. Mom carries it over.



Later Mom lifted up the fourth roe deer fawn (Capreolus capreolus) to the nest since the camera began rolling, far as I am aware.



Gotta check the hooves.



Again, no visible tail make roe deer particularly easy to ID.



Papa flies over (Visible by Mom's head).

Hi Raven, thank you for your very good screenshots! Good, informative and interesting studies. I really appreciate what you do.

Johan wrote:Hi Raven, thank you for your very good screenshots! Good, informative and interesting studies. I really appreciate what you do.

Valuable information and appreciation for involvement.

Today there was no sun at all and at 16:07 the flow was interrupted.

I will make a photo collage with photos of the pairs of eagles from the years I observed in order to be able to identify which pairs are. I am attaching these photos to complete the information from the initial description of this forum. Some photos are not clear because some of them are stop frames from filming.

Johan and Stelian, thank you for the kind words, always. It is a joy to share and learn together, and I have learned a great deal since this live stream began. Learning straight from the teachers, the golden eagles themselves, is the most valuable learning anyone could receive when seeking their ways. It has even distracted me from my beloved raven nests (shh). Because I know less about the eagles, they have more to teach me at the moment. Concerns about the timing of disturbance aside. We are each very fortunate to be able to witness this origin story, and for that I must thank Stelian. Thank you. When I am trapped inside and cannot roam, this view is its own kind of special medicine.

Today, we have no prey. But we did have this. This magic moment.











Some noteworthy items.

A view of primary feather development.





The young one picked up and ate a bone completely of his or her own volition in the afternoon.



However, I think s/he completely surprised all or most of us when s/he had already accomplished this at around 4 weeks of age.



We observed good strong periods of tall standing.





And for a couple days or so now, the left eye has been more consistently free of mucus. It's looking pretty good. Has a corner been turned? We shall see.

Wild Bucovina wrote:I will make a photo collage with photos of the pairs of eagles from the years I observed in order to be able to identify which pairs are. I am attaching these photos to complete the information from the initial description of this forum. Some photos are not clear because some of them are stop frames from filming.

Looking forward to it, thanks. A puzzle to work out. Teamwork is great fun. <3

Hi again Raven. Thanks for sharing beautiful photos with text. You describe it so well! Too bad there was not enough sunlight for the power supply to the batteries. But the experiences between mom and her offspring were indescribable. Fortunately, thanks to you and the forum, we have the pictures that "talk". Thanks again for your nice contributions here. I look forward to the continuation.

Thank you for what you shared with us today, Stelian. Some puzzle pieces are coming together.
Video sources for the following screenshots: https://youtu.be/iNu_5drtq8c - https://youtu.be/g9zrXkV8v1M

2015. Mature plumage. No white-based flight nor tail feathers.



2015. Bottom left of image, spread tail feathers. Mature plumage.



2020. When a golden eagle folds the tail feathers in, the center T1 pair rest on top. These are the first to grow in mature. If you look carefully, you can just see a hint of the outer white-based immature feathers.





Again, compare with the 2015 eagle in fully mature plumage.



2020. Balance is nearly lost, the tail is lifted up for a clearer view. Subadult feathers.



Two white-based flight feathers. Mom still has these two.



2021.



Something I find rather interesting is Stelian's top photograph of the pair in 2018, during the year of the second failed nesting attempt. It isn't easy to see with the back lighting, but that eagle appears to have fully mature tail feathering.

Link to image: https://servimg.com/view/20342562/29

At first I suspected that the 2017-2018 failed nesting attempts were because this new pair were too young to successfully breed. Instead, if that is indeed a fully mature bird in the 2018 photograph, then something happened to one or both of the previous pair between that point and 2020 when this new pair claimed the territory.

Raven,
Thanks a lot! These detailed studies confirm that the pair that was until 2018 is not the same as in 2020-2021. Very good observation. I don't think I would have noticed that.
I was very confused and I still have questions about what happened in 2017 and 2018, because the eagles did not hatch but also the suspected disappearance of the eagles in 2019.

Again today there was no sun at all and the battery was charged very little by the solar panels and therefore the flow was interrupted.