CUIBUL ACVILEI DE MUNTE NR. 2 - THE NEST OF THE GOLDEN EAGLE 2 (AQUILA CHRYSAETOS) 2023

2023-09-19 - Day 134; Week 19. Post-fledging: Day 63.

11:16:40-11:18:25 - The parid parade arrives at the eyrie, heralded by a pair of great tits (Parus major). Noted as we've seen them less frequently than the blues (Cyanistes caeruleus), and certainly the coals (Periparus ater); both of which were also present in this mixed flock.





No sign of Alunu/a, Lucina, nor Caliman.

2023-09-20 - Day 135; Week 19. Post-fledging: Day 64.

13:10:35 - Lucina arrives from the right with empty talons. Ravens (Corvus corax) are calling. She looks up, and yells at them. Skawk! Skawk! Skawk! Skawk! Skawk! Wawk! Skawk! Skawk!







13:13:53 - After quietly observing the world around her nest, Lucina locks eyes with one of the ravens who loops back behind the eyrie. The raven calls thrice. Contact calls; slow paced, and steady intervals. No answer that we can hear.



13:14:42 - The raven buzzes the eyrie, causing Lucina to flinch at the sound of approach. The corvid then arcs around behind the nest again, but this time carries on along the back slope to the right. Both birds remain silent throughout.



13:15:27 - It is likely the movement of insects that draws Lucina's attention to the floor of her nest.



13:16:43 - She spies something behind the lens, stretching her neck up for a better view. She leaves with some haste. Silent.



13:18:31 - Alunu/a begins vocalizing in the distance. Approaching.
13:19:31 - Hello, beautiful. His/her crop is empty. Mom-bird is difficult to pin down, eh? Worth checking the nest to see if she dropped anything off.





13:19:46 - Nothing but sticks, and bones. Alunu/a plays.



Ever on the lookout for Lucina or Caliman.



13:19:59 - The play continues. Winged-puppy.





13:20:33 - These bouts of play allow us a good view of the crop. It sinks in slightly. Lean times.





Yet plenty enough energy for now! The focus must transition from hunting Mom and Pops, to hunting proper prey, and becoming efficient enough to survive one's first winter.



13:21:07.



13:21:35 - There is a rustling, and Alunu/a gets a long neck. It could be nesting material falling a long way down (?), but Alunu/a seems spooked, and flees. Maybe s/he saw something else.



13:22:05 - A single vocalization from Alunu/a. Ravens call in the distance.

2023-09-22 - Day 137; Week 19. Post-fledging: Day 66.

10:02:44 - We begin hearing a Eurasian magpie (Pica pica).
10:08:07 - Magpie begins alarming.
10:10:37 - Alarm calls close to the microphone. Can hear a second farther away.
10:11:31 - One of the magpies alights on the upper right eyrie branch. Still yelling at someone.



The second of the pair moves in, alighting upon the lower back right branch. Image is a composite.



S/he tries to keep an eye on the perceived threat. The camera never catches sight of it.



10:13:22 - The second magpie moves to Alunu/a's fledging branch, then to the nest's edge to try for a better viewing position. The alarm calls have not ceased.



10:14:14 - Before leaving at the noted timestamp, s/he turns around revealing the species' lovely iridescence.



10:14:21 - There had been a brief respite from the alarm vocalizations, but now the first magpie starts up again.
10:14:26 - S/he too leaves, following her/his mate. Both alarming in the distance.
10:15:12 - Can hear even more distant northern ravens (Corvus corax) nearing slightly. They are interacting with each other or someone unrelated to the magpies, judging by the sound of their trajectory.
10:17:12 - The magpie pair flies back towards the eyrie.
10:17:39 - Loud alarming near the microphone.
10:18:57 - One of the magpies hops back into the nest from the right edge, to the fledging branch, then to the previous take off spot. Continuing to alarm, and peering down again.
10:19:43 - Up s/he goes to the higher branches, and out of view.
10:20:13 - A final alarm before a rustle.

10:23:11-10:24:50 - Eurasian magpies alarming.

12:07:06 - Staccato raven calls.
12:07:28 - Raven wing beats.
12:07:30 - Wings rip through the air with an audible tearing of wind as the chase passes overhead.

2023-09-23 - Day 138; Week 19. Post-fledging: Day 67.

Happy Autumn Equinox.

10:18:23 - Staccato northern raven (Corvus corax) calls sprinkle in.
10:26:46 - Shadows start flashing along the back slope. More raven vocalizations.
10:30:55-10:31:47 - Skawk calls. My brain is fuzzy this morning. I hear elements of the vocalization that remind me of both Lucina, and Alunu/a at times.
10:38:48 - Raven calling. Shifts to a staccato pattern into distance. Reminder, staccato in this case indicates an active chase is occurring.

15:47:45-15:48:59 - Vegetation (?) snapping, and crackling sounds.
15:49:24-15:50:26 - Continues.

16:07:27 - Alunu/a calling.

16:13:04 - Explosive sounds distorted by distance.

19:47:30 - Male red deer (Cervus elaphus) vocalizing.

2023-09-25 - Day 140; Week 20. Post-fledging: Day 69.

Alunu/a detected today? Yes. Vocalizations. Timestamp at end of post.

07:12:57 - The red deer stags (Cervus elaphus) have been vocalizing in the mornings, and evenings. One example of many.

10:53:12 - A rustle, followed by northern raven (Corvus corax) wing beats. The start of a long stretch of territorial chases, and activity among this species today.
10:53:41 - Two ravens alight in the upper right branches. The wing beats of a third circle about the eyrie. Out! Out! Leave!
10:55:10 - A chance to flee. One of the sheltering ravens books it to another tree on the back slope. The other swiftly dives past, heading right.
10:55:20 - The raven on the slope leaves to the right.
10:56:59 - Raven shadows flash over the slope, and the eyrie. The activity stirs up again. circling, rustling, loud powered flight, vocalizations.

11:23:42 - The activity has ebbed, and flowed, but not ceased. A raven makes evasive maneuvers from an incoming conspecific. Here slowed down. The pursuers wings rush through the air.



12:01:43 - Wing beats, rustle. A raven alights on the upper right branch. Peeks at camera in a manner reminiscent of the magpie from an earlier day.



12:02:46 - The dominant birds approach overhead.



12:03:17 - S/he feaks (wiping beak from side to side) on the branch, before heading higher up into the crown to face the music. Weapon clean, honed, prepared.



12:03:25 - Upset vocalizations follow. Sound of dives, swift passes.
12:03:40 - Two ravens pass within view, back to front.
12:03:44 - Presumably, it is the intruder who alights lower left, near the trunk. Beak open in stress, and/or exertion.
12:04:20 - The alighted raven then hops to a right branch below the nest, out of view.
12:04:30 - Meanwhile, two other ravens had apparently alighted in the crown. One drops onto the upper right visible branch. Does a sneaky crawl along it, and makes intimate vocalizations.



12:04:48 - Again, presumably, this one's mate or ally also drops from above, but circles around behind the nest.
12:04:56 - The sneaky crawler drops down to Alunu/a's fledging branch.



12:05:09 - Finds a bone!



12:05:32 - Fusses with bone. Drops it.



12:05:54 - Starts pulling up other scraps. Ooo, finds one with some jerkified meat still intact. That'll do.



12:06:08 - The mate/ally reappears, alighting in the upper branches.
12:07:02-12:08:16 - Another raven alights at the top of a back slope tree. And who might you be? It can be tricky to keep track of a territorial pair, and an unwelcome group of vagrants with a fixed view. Never mind untangling the hierarchy that forms within the loose foraging flocks at a glance.
12:08:55 - Curiosity pulls the other closer. Does a jumping jack from the nest to the fledging branch. A little wary about the camera, but soon turns attention back to companion. What have you there?



12:09:22 - Leaves.



12:09:35 - The raven with the scrap takes it To Go.

16:40:10 - Alunu/a calling!

18:58:42 - A red stag begins vocalizing.

2023-09-26 - Day 141; Week 20. Post-fledging: Day 70.

14:29:12 - Vegetation snapping loudly. Bellowing of a red stag (Cervus elaphus). Close, very close to the eyrie.
14:41:48 - Final indication of his presence. A single grunt.

2023-09-29 - Day 144; Week 20. Post-fledging: Day 73.

Plentiful bellowing from (a) red deer stag(s) (Cervus elaphus) close to the eyrie in recent days. And dark and early this morning, those cervid voices, coupled with the light of a waxing gibbous (sliver shy of full), and the movement of clouds, was really lovely.

We had another Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) visit on 2023-09-29.

2023-10-01 - Day 146; Week 20. Post-fledging: Day 75.

07:13:55 - Alunu/a calling.

13:03:44-13:09:41 - A raven (Corvus corax) pair visits. The larger male is agitated, vocalizing unhappily at someone threatening off camera. Is on edge, suddenly spooking a couple times. Fleeing the nest for a minute.


_____

2023-10-02 - Day 147; Week 21. Post-fledging: Day 76.

15:50:31-15:56:43 - Alunu/a calling off, and on.

_____

2023-10-03 - Day 148; Week 21. Post-fledging: Day 77.

09:57:37-10:01:40 - A pair of magpies (Pica pica) visit.
12:13:29 - A Eurasian nuthatch too (Sitta europaea), in the nest proper.

2023-10-05 - Day 150; Week 21. Post-fledging: Day 79.

10:53:52 - Alunu/a vocalizing in distance.
10:54:41 - Nearing eyrie.
10:57:18 - Alunu/a quiets as a gruff voiced raven (Corvus corax) takes over, voice carrying into the distance.
10:58:15-11:01:30 - Alunu/a calling off, and on in the distance.
_____

2023-10-06 - Day 151; Week 21. Post-fledging: Day 80.

09:29:08 - A Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) visits.



09:29:32.



18:38:45-18:48:50 - Alunu/a calling in the distance at first, then eventually perching close to the microphone. Possibly roosting near the eyrie tonight.

18:46:16 - A brief glimpse as s/he leaves a perch. <3

Hi @Raven Please tell me how do you upload video captures or clips here?

Hi Stelian,

First I use a free .gif maker, such as ShareX (https://getsharex.com/). Then I upload the .gif to a free image hosting site, in my case imgur.com.

1. Copy the link. Example: https://imgur.com/zdvX1lD
2. To post to the forum I must append .gif to the link. Example: https://imgur.com/zdvX1lD.gif
3. Then I choose 'Insert Image', paste it into the URL text field, and click 'insert'. OR, simply type these HTML tags [img ][ /img] framing the link WITHOUT the spaces. I had to add spaces in the examples or it would simply embed the .gif into the post. Example: [img ]https://imgur.com/zdvX1lD.gif[ /img]

I hope that makes sense. If you need clarification, I'll do my best to better explain.

2023-10-07 - Day 152; Week 21. Post-fledging: Day 81.

06:53:45-07:02:54 - Alunu/a vocalizing, confirming our roosting suspicions. Final timestamp ends with a rustle.
07:09:08-07:09:27 - Soft tsyuks.

18:31:18-19:20:53 - Alunu/a vocalizing.

Alunu/a and parents “Lucina and Caliman” 03.10.2023

Thank you so much for sharing that Stelian! What a wonderful sight to see Alunu/a with Lucina and Caliman 🥰

you can really see the head feathers turning to golden.... so beautiful!

Wow, thank you for sharing this interaction, Stelian. Fascinating to witness talon-grappling attempts between offspring, and parents. What a great sequence! Roughly how far from the eyrie?

"Agonistic interactions between parents and offspring or between siblings are uncommon, except just before or after fledglings gain independence." - The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

I tracked down references given, and plucked out pertinent quotes from accessible papers:

Walker, D. G. (1987). Observations on the post-fledging period of the Golden Eagle, Aquila chrysaetos, in England. Ibis 129: 92–96.

"There was no evidence that the adults drove the juvenile away: the only direct aggression was seen on Day 55 in 1982. The male twice prevented the young bird from landing at a carcass by jumping to ‘talon-grapple’ it away. Although flight-rolls were commonly seen after about Day 50, the juvenile always initiated these, usually with the female. The juveniles gained full independence while the adults were keeping mostly to the nesting valley and the exact time of this varied from year to year. It was estimated at 75 to 85 days after fledging because the adults then performed territory defence displays towards their young. The adults also began wandering about the whole home-range after this time."

Walker, D. G. (1988). The behaviour and movements of a juvenile Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos in England in 1986. Ibis 130: 564.

"The juvenile was regularly seen in the home-range to Day 60 and this is similar to 1982-1984 (c. 63 days). After this date the adults were absent until Day 68 when they were seen talon-grappling. The juvenile was last seen in the home-range on Day 73 when it passed through the nesting valley. The adults reacted to it with antagonistic displays as if it were a fully independent eagle (S. Ross, pers. comm.), suggesting a date for total independence of about 63 days compared with 75-85 days in 1982-1984."

Bahat, O. (1992). Post-fledging movements of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos homeyeri) in the Negev Desert, Israel, as determined by radio-telemetry. In Wildlife Telemetry: Remote Monitoring and Tracking of Animals (I. G. Priede and S. M. Swift, Editors), Ellis Horwood Ltd., New York, NY, USA. pp. 612–621.

No access.

Grant, J. R., and M. J. McGrady (1999). Dispersal of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Scotland. Ringing and Migration 19: 169–174.

"Cues for dispersal by juvenile raptors are not well known, though in migratory species dispersal may coincide with the onset of migration. No apparent aggressive behaviour was noted from adults on the few occasions these radio-tagged eagles were watched interacting with them in their home ranges. Neither Bahat (1992) in the Negev nor Walker (1991) in his long term study of the Golden Eagles in the English Lake District, saw what they considered to be aggressive parental behaviour to their offspring during the post-fledging period. On the rare occasions when Walker observed talon grappling between juveniles and adults, he felt that it was the juveniles that had initiated the interaction. Walker also considers that in one year of his study (1986) a major food shortage resulted in the juvenile eagle leaving its home range early. However, close interactions with fledged juveniles prior to dispersal were seen elsewhere during the study of adults in Argyll. These included birds stooping on each other, talon touching and grappling, and were initiated sometimes by the adults and at other times by the juveniles. Close interactions with juveniles or sub-adults known to be intruders were also seen. Again these involved stooping on intruding birds and talon grappling; on one occasion this was followed by cartwheeling and a direct chase, using powered flight, of an intruding sub-adult by the resident male."

O'Toole, L. T., P. L. Kennedy, R. L. Knight, and L. C. McEwen (1999). Postfledging behavior of Golden Eagles. Wilson Bulletin 111: 472–477.

"If parents and offspring were in conflict, resulting in the adults "driving-off" the juveniles, or if parents used aggression to evaluate the young's flight proficiency (Ferrer 1992), we should have observed agonistic interactions during the times when the parents were seen with the offspring, but we did not. Although parental aggression has been observed in raptor species (Robertson 1985, Alonso et al. 1987, Walker 1987, Hiraldo et al. 1989), it is often the case that the parents feed their offspring long after they have fledged (Ikeda 1987, Walker 1987, Bustamante and Hiraldo 1990, Ceballos and Donazar 1990, Bahat 1992). We did not find an increase in aggression between siblings, as we predicted. Although juveniles moved away from their parental home range, they apparently remained together, indicative of sibling attraction rather than aversion. Our data do not support the predictions that an increase in parental and/or sibling aggression is associated with independence in this population."

Watson, J. (2010). The Golden Eagle. Second edition. T. & A. D. Poyser, London, United Kingdom.

"Factors affecting the timing of dispersal

The variation in timing of dispersal of Golden Eagles from their natal territories has been discussed in Chapter 8. What factors trigger the dispersal of the young? In my experience there is little evidence of aggression between adult Golden Eagles and their own young. O'Toole et al. (1999) also found no evidence that increased aggression between parents and offspring, or between siblings in a brood, was associated with independence in Golden Eagles in North Dakota. Young appeared not to be driven out by their parents but may be encouraged to leave as parental feeding rates decline (see also Walker 1987). Walker (1988) explained the unusually early departure of one chick from the parental territory in 1986 on the grounds that food supply that year was poor. In his view, early dispersal was linked to food shortage and the need for the chick to hunt for itself. The fact that the juvenile eagle in 1986 was seen feeding on carrion much earlier and for longer periods than in previous years was, he believed, further support for his hypothesis. It is possible, however, that the opportunity to feed on a ready source of carrion may have enhanced the condition of this chick. If indeed this was the case such improved condition could have encouraged an earlier departure date.
 The conclusions from work on the Spanish Imperial Eagle would suggest that the latter interpretation is the more likely. Using radio-telemetry, Miguel Ferrer was able to follow the dispersal of young Imperial Eagles and to correlate the timing of this with the condition of the birds at fledging. He found that the better the condition at fledging the sooner birds were likely to leave the parental territory (Ferrer 1992b). The driving force behind this was, he suggested, the intense competition which would be experienced by independent young for the best feeding areas, placing a premium on early dispersal. According to this hypothesis, dominant chicks should disperse as soon as possible, giving them access to the best feeding areas before these become occupied. Birds in poorer condition should, in contrast, stay longer in the natal area to improve their condition because they would be likely to end up in poorer quality habitat after dispersal. Whether or not a similar situation exists for the Golden Eagle is unknown."

Hello everyone! Tomorrow morning we start the live stream from the other nest of the golden eagle.

Wow!! That's fantastic news Stelian, thank you

Pentru cuibul nr.1 am creat un nou forum separat aici:
https://wildbucovina.forumgratuit.ro/t9-cuibul-acvilei-de-munte-nr-1-the-nest-of-the-golden-eagle-no-1-aquila-chrysaetos-2023-2024#767

For nest no. 1 we have created a new separate forum here:
https://wildbucovina.forumgratuit.ro/t9-cuibul-acvilei-de-munte-nr-1-the-nest-of-the-golden-eagle-no-1-aquila-chrysaetos-2023-2024#767

Beata noted hearing Alunu/a on both the 16th (first snow of the season blanketed the eyrie), and on the 21st. I was not able to find the time stamp. It was swallowed by the chat, and I only saw a response from another chatter. On the latter day, I was not able to tune in at all, but the time stamp remained in chat.

2023-10-22 - Day 167; Week 23. Post-fledging: Day 96.

18:24:18 - Alunu/a's vocalizations.
18:26:13 - Lucina arrives from the right, delivering a conifer spray in her left foot. Alunu/a follows her in, both calling. The audio is out of sync.



Alunu/a continues vocalizing stiffly, head lowered until Mom turns. S/he does not move an inch closer. The European beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaves have senesced into their rich autumn color. Very fine.



18:27:12 - Lucina leaves towards the right.



After a rest, Alunu/a unenthusiastically foot-stabs the old fox skull a couple of times. S/he continues to vocalize on and off throughout the visit.





18:32:18 - Appearing to visually lock onto a parent, Alunu/a makes his/her exit, calling into the distance. <3

Hello. Alunu and Lucina visited the nest twice on the 23rd. scrapbooks from Lady Hawk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfhhpbzAoRU

She has matured so much that I couldn’t immediately distinguish her from her mother-)

Hello, Roma. Thank you for linking us to a video recording.

2023-10-23 - Day 168; Week 24. Post-fledging: Day 97.

Audio is out of sync.

07:59:37 - Lucina alights low on the front right edge of the nest. She vocalizes softly before screechy Alunu/a darts in.
07:59:55 - Here is her eaglet, also in from the right. Alunu/a appears much smaller than s/he is due to being farther away from the camera.



08:00:37 - Soliciting Mom for food.



08:00:48 - Lucina leaves towards the right.







08:03:38 - Maybe Alunu/a considers leaving too. S/he hops to the lower left corner branch.



08:04:47 - Quick preen of the breast feathers.



08:05:08 - S/he hops back into the nest, continuing to vocalize off and on since arrival. As is the way.

08:05:21 - Upon moving the old fox kit's (Vulpes vulpes) skull, Alunu/a hears someone land nearby. They are otherwise silent.



08:05:39 - A Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) appears, peeking out from a hidden branch behind the trunk.
08:05:52 - The magpie flies up to the lower left branch. Once Alunu/a catches sight of the one with the scrabbly claws, intent inspection ensues.





08:06:23 - Magpie has seen enough. S/he leaves as silently as s/he arrived. Only a few soft calls during the visit. No alarms.





08:07:34 - Farewell for now. Alunu/a departs in turn.



14:43:34 - 6 hours, 36 minutes later, Alunu/a is back.



Composite image.



Lucina returns as well. Her talons are empty once more.



14:44:31 - Alunu/a approaches her with further solicitations.



:>>







14:47:32 - S/he fusses with a branch, and a moment later, the live conifer spray.



As Mom prepares for take off we get another decent look at her crop. Recent success on the hunt. Though it doesn't stand out in as obvious a manner, I think Alunu/a had a little something too.



14:48:22 - Lucina exits towards the right.

Alunu/a soon follows.

2023-11-01 - Day 177; Week 25. Post-fledging: Day 106.

06:37:45-06:51:06 - Alunu/a can be heard vocalizing off and on at both eyries, but becomes fainter towards the latter half of the time stamp at Nest #1 (Zenit's natal nest), and has thus moved closer to his/her own origin point.

2023-11-09 - Day 185; Week 26. Post-fledging: Day 114.

Nesting material delivery. 1 stick - Caliman.

16:33:54-16:34:44 - Caliman delivers a stick from the right. It is held in his right foot.

17:24:26 - The faint barks of a golden eagle.

What is most interesting about this visit, is that Lucina is also on an overlapping delivery mission. See Nest #1's forum.

2023-11-10 - Day 186; Week 26. Post-fledging: Day 115.

Nesting material deliveries. 1 stick - Lucina. 1 stick - Caliman.

1 stick. 09:02:41 - Lucina alights from the right with a stick in her right foot. It has taken her 2 minutes since departure from Nest #1. She barks in announcement of her arrival.
09:04:12 - Off she flies towards the right.
09:06:09 - Lucina barking in the distance.

1 stick. 09:06:26 - Caliman alights from the right with a stick in feet. It has taken him 6 minutes since departure from Nest #1. He also barks.
09:06:53 - Off he flies towards the right.

10.11.2023
Both lucina and caliman come to this nest. In the video, there is only Lucina when she comes. Between minutes 09:09 - 11:19 of the clip.