Dr. Charles R. Preston, Senior and Founding Curator, Draper Natural History Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming
28 June, 2010 – Summer has finally arrived in the Bighorn Basin! Temperatures have climbed to 90 degrees plus for a couple of days, now, and vegetation is beginning to fade. Last week, however, was peak blooming period for larkspur and globemallow in much of the Basin. Pronghorn fawns were seemingly everywhere last week. A few of our Golden Eagles have now fledged, and I expect several more to leave the nest during this week. We’ll know more after Richard completes his aerial survey later this week.
Jennifer McDonald and I led our Eagle Field Expedition (public education program) on Saturday, June 26. Our participants were able to observe the two chicks on nest 23A and compare them with the older chicks still in nest 60A. We also visited a Red-tailed Hawk nest in a large cottonwood tree near highway 120.
The two adults put on quite a show as we watched from about 300 meters from the nest. While we were watching the three active chicks in the nest, we spotted one of the adults about 200 meters north of our position. It was feeding on something on the ground and being mobbed by Red-winged Blackbirds and a persistent Western Kingbird. Suddenly, its mate began calling from a lofty, Cliffside perch nearby. The two Red-tails then flew around one another and perched for awhile near their nest—still being harassed by songbirds. Our field trip participants gained a new appreciation for the aerial maneuverability of these birds. In fact, this was a life-changing experience for some of our participants who are now hooked on watching raptors and other wildlife. Many indicated an interest in joining our Golden Eagle Posse to monitor one or more nests next year.
In addition to the aerial survey this week, we’ll be conducting our monthly rabbit roadside surveys to help us document changes in rabbit numbers from place-to-place and time-to-time. This should provide us with a broader context for interpreting variations in eagle diet.
Here are some of the reports I received this past week from our Golden Eagle Posse nest monitors:
Report from Sharyl McDowell and Richard Brady received on 25 June:
A quiet week at nest 38a. Both chicks are still in the nest – the #1 chick is all dark brown except for an occasional white feather that peeks thru. Even his under wing feathers are rapidly turning brown. Boots, head have changed colors. The #2 chick which used to be the smaller of the two is now almost as large as chick #1. Has a few more white feathers left on the body, still a number under the wings, and his head is lighter.
Both chicks flap their wings and hop when they want to move around the nest. We’ve been watching them for 42 days now and they were hatched before we made our first observation…so they should be close to the magic 51 day mark by now. PS: the pigeons still survive!!
Report from Rosemarie Hughes and John Ross received on 25 June:
Our chicks are sure getting big—I’m not looking forward to the day they fledge, I enjoy watching them too much. We heard some chirping coming from the nest and the next thing we knew there was an adult flying into the nest, with a cottontail. We could actually see the bunny ears. The larger chick immediately laid on it. The small chick just kept chirping, probably in hopes of being fed. We didn’t know it at the time but the chicks are feeding themselves now. Last week we weren’t too sure, thought they were just mocking the adult. It was kind of funny how their feeding schedule went: the small chick fed itself for 15 minutes while the large chick stood-by; the next 15 minutes the large chick fed while the small chick stood-by; the next 15 minutes the large bird fed while the small chick stood-by.
One time when the small chick was feeding, the large chick tilted its head as if it wanted to be fed. We laughed. They both fed for 40 – 45 minutes time then they were done. We saw an adult perched above the nest. We weren’t sure if it was the same one that was in the nest. While it was there a pair of kestrels where swarming overhead, dive-bombing it, and giving it the business. Must have been a nest close by. The adult just hung in there though. It probably figured it would get attacked if it flew away so it waited until the kestrels were gone before it moved on.
Report from Bud and Dale Schrickling on 28 June:
When we first got set up this morning it was difficult to tell if both chicks were there or only one. As the sun rose higher and it got brighter there was only one laying outside in the nest. Our nest has a protected area that we refer to as a cave that the other chick may have been in, but as the light improved and time went on it was apparent that there was only one chick in the nest. As to which one it was that fledged first we can’t say for sure but our guess is it was the older one. Normally we can compare but with only one there that’s not going to happen. As of Friday they were both still in the nest, so it happened sometime this weekend. The unfortunate thing is that we did not see either the fledgling nor the parents this morning.
Many thanks again to all of our Posse members. I can’t include all of your reports each week, but I do read them all and look forward to following your progress. Just a reminder, your data sheets and field journals are due when your adopted eaglets fledge. That will be soon for some of you! Stay tuned for further updates next week. Best wishes, C.R. Preston
