Black Eagle Cam

It's getting quite dark here now but you can see mum and the chick is also there, he kept moving forward but not enough to come out but you can see he has grown since your last pic WS and his feathers are also changing colour as well, shame its not lighter but I was late looking in.


littlewid-x-

Thanks LW. No sign of Mumor the Chick this morning will have to check later

WS

thanks for checking WS

Lai

Mums back, and she's brought some food in. That chick is really growing now






WS

Great news and lovely to see.

Lai

Boy this Bird has really grown in a week, been trying get a full shot but that flippin tree gets in the road


WS

This will give you a better idea of how much it's grown, and the feathers have come through




WS

What a difference, amazing how quickly these birds grow. Well i suppose they have to of course.

Lai

I dont think it's going to be to long before it fledges

Doing some wing streching


WS

It would be great to see - so who's on cam duty WS ???

Lai

Black Eagle Cam is still down
WS

cams not brilliant at the moment - thanks for looking WS

Lai

It's been down for a few days now, hopefully they will have it up again very soon, the chick must be really big by now.
littlewid-x-

News via FB

1st August 2010
Press Release
The Black Eagle Project Roodekrans started ringing the juvenile eaglets in 2006, with the exception of 2009; all fledged the nest successfully, with no adverse reaction. On the 26th July 2010 a ring was attached to the tarsus of the eaglet and two patagial tags were attached to the patagium. The reason these tags are put onto large raptors is to help with identifying these birds out in the field, the tag has a unique number on it that can be traced back to the nesting area. This information is important in understanding the dispersal of the birds from the natal area. This method of tagging has been used on thousands of birds all over the world and has been very successful over the years with no negative impact to the birds. It is this reason why the researchers at Roodekrans were amazed that the adult female showed signs of aggression towards the tags on her chick. This caused immense stress to the eaglet on the nest and during one of these attacks the adult eagle broke the youngster’s leg.
The project re-acted quickly and the juvenile was removed from the nest for medical treatment by wild life vet, Dr Brett Gardiner. The bird was stabilised and the leg was set by Dr. Gardiner, who said the prognosis for recovery and release back into the wild was high. The eaglet will be transferred to a rehabilitation centre where it will stay until it is ready to fledge, from there it will go out into the country and gradually be re-introduced to the wild.
The Black Eagle Project Roodekrans thoroughly investigated this form of research before taking the decision to proceed with this procedure. What has subsequently occurred at Roodekrans was a learning curve for other researchers to perhaps re think the tagging of juvenile eagles on the nest and perhaps to rather look at alternative methods for tracking large raptors.
A decision has subsequently been made that due to the adverse nature of this stress related consequence, such procedures will no longer be administered to the offspring of the Roodekrans eagle pair.

What a sad thing to have happened.

Lai

We dont seem to have a lot of luck with our Birds, after all this time watching it grow for something like this to happen is really sad. All we can do is hope that it gets better, and has a life in the wild. Also thast the people concerned learn the lessons.
Thanks for letting us know Lai
WS

That really is a shame Lai but as they said, they researched it well before they tagged the Eaglet and I suppose these kind of things aren't something you can foresee as it was a reaction from that particular Adult Eagle Mother.
It must have been awful for the eaglet though and now it has had to be seperated from it's mother which of course may affect it in the long term. The good thing though is the vet does believe the leg will heal and it should have a normal life, I suppose again it depends on whether it survives well away from its mum.
Your right WS, watching these birds does cause us alot of heartache at times, it would be nice if something went right all the way through for a change.
Thanks for posting the info Lai.
littlewid-x-

Update on The Black Eagle Story from Boma



WS

Mmmmm not quite nature because man ringed the chick and that caused confusion in the mother and her attempt to remove the ring and unfortunately break the chicks leg. So its removal from the nest and the parents acceptance of it going was not nature in its true form. Accepting the chicks removal was bird nature but it wouldn't have happened if man didn't have to ring the birds to learn more about them and try to protect them, so in my eyes, it was a man made disaster for the eagle family, not nature in it's truest form.

littlewid-x-

I couldnt have said it better myself LW.

Its man made if man is involved in the outcome, not nature at all.

SM