Category Archives: Birds of Prey

Whoops! I Can Fly

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey

16 June 2020

Sometimes learning from a small mistake is just what you need to make the next big step in life. A red-tailed hawk nestling found that out last Friday.

The three nestlings at Cornell’s Red-tailed Hawk Nestcam were ready to fledge on 14 June but no one had done it yet. One was eating and playing with his food. The other two were bored and puttering around the nest high above Cornell University’s stadium.

One of them, J2, decided to test his wings from a perch on the stadium light. It was windy. He started to slide down the light. Whoops! … I can fly!

Watch the faces of his siblings as he flies around the stadium and lands in the trees.

By 10:30am Sunday all three had fledged.

See video highlights of them leaving the nest at allaboutbirds.org/cornellhawks. (Scroll down below the live-cam panel.)

(video from Cornell Lab’s Red-tailed Hawk Cam)

Hays Eaglets Are Growing Fast

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
Two eaglets at the Hays bald eagle nest, 20 April 2020 (screenshot from the Hays eaglecam at ASWP)

21 April 2020

Every day that passes without an egg at the Cathedral of Learning nest confirms my disappointment that there’s no Pittsburgh peregrine family to watch online. However, we have a great alternative at a local nest with two active chicks.

The eaglets at the Hays bald eagle nest have long since passed the brooding stage and already have pin feathers. Their parents stand guard overnight as seen this morning before 5am.

Hays bald eagles at their nest: 2 parents, 2 chicks. 21 April 2020, 4:50am (screenshot from the Hays eaglecam at ASWP)

They’re growing up fast. Watch the Hays eagles at http://aswp.org/pages/hays-nest.

Two New Eaglets At Hays

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
First eaglet at Hays, 21 March 2020 (photo from Bald Eagles in Western Pennsylvania – ASWP Facebook page)

While I was distracted by the COVID-19 emergency, the Hays bald eagles hatched two eggs!

The first eaglet appeared on Sat 21 March 21 at 7:40am, above. The second one hatched on Monday 23 March at 6:40am, below.

Second eaglet at Hays, 23 March 2020 (photo from Bald Eagles of Western Pennsylvania – ASWP Facebook page)

In the day between hatchlings, Audubon Society of Western PA captured this video of the mother rolling her second egg. Notice how carefully she holds her talons inward as she steps near her chick. What a good mom!

Watch the Hays bald eagle family online at http://aswp.org/pages/hays-nest.

p.s. Stay safe, folks. Online viewing is best! Allegheny and seven other Pennsylvania counties are now under a Stay At Home order through 6 April. (Click for details) We are allowed to go outdoors but must stay six feet apart.

(photos and video from Bald Eagles of Western Pennsylvania — Audubon Society of Western PA)

Pittsburgh Eagles: A Look Back to 2013

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
Harmar Bald Eagle carrying nesting material, March 2013 (photo by Steve Gosser)
Harmar Bald Eagle carrying nesting material, March 2013 (photo by Steve Gosser)

Seven years ago we suddenly had three bald eagle nests in Allegheny County, PA. Hays and Harmar were new and Crescent Township was only a year old.

On Throw Back Thursday, let’s look back to March 2013:

(photo by Steve Gosser, 2013)

Harmar Eagles Have An Egg

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
First egg of 2020 at the Harmar nest (photo by Gina Gilmore used by permission)

28 February 2020:

There’s happy news at the Harmar bald eagle nest, observed by Gina Gilmore.

Gina was on hand on Wed 26 Feb 2020 at 1:57pm when she saw — and filmed — the female bald eagle behaving as if she had laid her first egg. The bird stood in the nest, often looked down between her feet, and remained standing as if she was waiting for an egg to dry. Then she settled down to begin incubation.

Click here or on the image above to see Gina’s video. When you play the video, click on the speaker icon at bottom right to turn on sound …

This egg is the 10th at the Harmar site since nesting was first confirmed in 2013/2014 and the 1st for 2020. A second egg is due today or tomorrow, 28 or 29 Feb, at Harmar.

Thank you, Gina Gilmore, for filming this happy event. Without an eaglecam on the nest, we rely on observers like Gina to note behavior that indicates an egg has been laid. See more of Gina’s photos on her Facebook page.

You can help observe the Harmar bald eagles from this small dirt parking area (blue pin) along Freeport Road. Click here for Gina’s photo of the viewing area.

NOTE: If the parking area is full you’ll have to go elsewhere.

(photo by Gina Gilmore)

Second Egg at Hays Eagle Nest, Feb 16

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship

The female eagle at the Hays bald eagle nest laid her second egg of the season on 16 Feb 2020 at 6:30pm — exactly three days after the first one!

Audubon of Western PA spread the news at the Bald Eagles of Western PA Facebook page:

Watch this nesting pair on the Hays eaglecam at http://aswp.org/pages/hays-nest.

(photo and text from Bald Eagles of Western PA — Audubon Society of Western PA Facebook page)

First Bald Eagle Egg of 2020 at Hays, Feb 13

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
First egg at the Hays bald eagle nest, 13 Feb 2020, 6:35pm (photo from the Hays eaglecam at Audubon Society of Western PA)

Happy news on Valentine’s Day! Last evening the Audubon Society of Western PA (ASWP) announced:

[Pittsburgh, PA, February 13, 2020] – Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania confirms an egg in the Hays, PA Bald Eagle nest. The egg, laid at 6:30 pm this evening, is visible in the nest on the eagle cam when the incubating adult stands up: http://aswp.org/pages/hays-nest. There is typically a 2-3 day span in between eggs being laid in a Bald Eagle nest. In 2019, the Hays Bald Eagles laid three eggs; two hatched and the juveniles successfully fledged the nest.

– Bald Eagles in Western PA Facebook page

ASWP also posted this video of the first egg roll:

Join the conversation at Bald Eagles in Western Pennsylvania Facebook page.

Watch the Hays Bald Eagle cam at http://aswp.org/pages/hays-nest.

(photos and video from Bald Eagles in Western Pennsylvania – Audubon Society of Western PA Facebook page)

Note: The photos and video are in black-and-white because the camera uses infrared to see the nest in the dark.

Hays Bald Eagles: Eggs Coming Soon

Birds of Prey, Nesting & Courtship
Hays bald eagle pair, 8 Feb 2020 (photo by Dana Nesiti, Eagles of Hays PA)

Heads up, Bald Eagle Fans!

Yesterday on their Bald Eagles in Western Pennsylvania Facebook page, Audubon of Western PA pointed out that the first bald eagle egg at Hays is usually laid between February 12 and 17.

Watch for eggs on the Hays Bald Eagle cam at http://aswp.org/pages/hays-nest.

Join the conversation at Bald Eagles in Western Pennsylvania Facebook page.

See great photos at the Eagles of Hays PA Facebook page. Dana Nesiti visits the Allegheny Passage trail and other sites along the Monongahela River to capture the eagles in their natural setting.

Eggs coming soon!

(photo by Dana Nesiti at Eagles of Hays PA Facebook page)

The Benefits of Brush Piles

Bird Behavior, Birds of Prey
Coopers hawk eyeing a brush pile that’s full of birds (photo by Marcy Cunkelman)

When a predator shows up at your backyard feeders the songbirds need a place to hide. If you don’t have any evergreens, you can make an instant shelter with a brush pile.

Brush piles don’t look tidy but they benefit birds. Look how this one frustrates an active Coopers hawk in Wisconsin.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming this weekend, 14-17 Feb 2020. Here are 3 quick things to make your backyard a better place for birds.

  • Clean your feeders: Bird feeders accumulate mold and bacteria, including Salmonella. Clean them every two to four weeks by emptying and soaking for 10 minutes in a weak solution of 10% bleach (1 part bleach, 9 parts water) described at The Spruce: Bird Feeder Cleaning Tips.
  • Keep your cat indoors.
  • Provide shelter (described above).

(photo by Marcy Cunkelman, video tweet from @RLJSlick)

Near Threatened Eagles: A Life Story

Birds of Prey, Travel
African crowned eagle, Kenya (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The amazing photo below of an eagle’s claw and a human hand left me wondering, Who is this bird and why are his claws so big? Today I’ll tell you a bit of his life story.

The talons of a African Crowned Eagle compared to a hand.
byu/edison_1 inpics
Juvenile crowned eagle in captivity (image from r/pics on Reddit)

Shaped like a giant goshawk with a feather crest, the crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) lives in the riparian forests of sub-Saharan Africa where it eats monkeys, small forest antelopes (duikers), “mouse-deer” (chevrotains) and “rock rabbits” (rock hyrax). Click on the links to see photos of these unusual animals.

Crowned eagles weigh only 6-10 pounds, smaller than bald eagles, yet they routinely capture mammals twice as heavy as they are. Reports say they can fly with prey that outweighs them, but they normally rip it apart on the ground and cache pieces in the trees. For this lifestyle they need large talons.

Adult African crowned eagle,South Africa (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Deforestation in Africa is destroying the crowned eagles’ high-canopy habitat and their population is declining. They are listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN.

African crowned eagle in flight (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Fortunately they nest in safety at Zimbali Coastal Resort near Durban, South Africa. Watch them at the nest in Zimbali’s 8-minute video.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, embedded Reddit post; click on the captions to see the originals)