Catalina update, September 26th, 2007

[eaglegal]

Hi everybody,
I’m going to be fishing tonight, I need to catch a lot since I’ll be gone this weekend so I figured I’d post an early Wednesday update for all of you.
I have a lot to report this week. As most of you might have noticed, we’ve been working on our web cams this week. Last Friday we went to Two Harbors to replace a whole lot of wires and fixed the connection at the nest site. We couldn’t tell if the chicks had messed with it or not but anyway, it got fixed.

For the first hour that we were up there we didn’t hear or see any eagles but as soon as Pete stepped onto the actual nest to remove some trash (probably brought up by ravens), one of the parents came out of nowhere and started soaring and quacking at us. It could have been a coincidence that the adult just happen to notice us then but it was pretty neat, as if they were saying… you may play in our ‘yard’ but don’t you dare going into our ‘beds’.
Yesterday we worked on the West End camera and at the receiver sites for Two Harbors. It was a long day but we finally got the cams working (well…Pete did, there’s so much electronics involved that I don’t completely understand that I just carry stuff, strip wires, hold things, pass him tools, etc). We removed the camera off the WE nest and placed it by the batteries about 50ft away from the nest so they can have an ‘all natural’ looking nest. If you check our website you’ll see what I’m talking about. It’s kind of foggy today so you wont be able to see much on days like this but now you understand our sunlight problem (or lack thereof). We will be able to zoom in and out by remote control so we can see right into the nest but we need to work on that. The adult eagles have a lot of work to do as well; out of all the nests I’ve seen lately, the WE needs some serious restorations and housekeeping the most.
As far as the young eagles go, we’ve seen pretty much everybody this week. I’ve been finding them on a field by the reservoir where there’s a lot of dead deer. That area is supposed to be off-limits for hunters so most likely the deer starved to death. Here’re some shots of the juveniles.
K-03

K-75

Everybody seems to like this area. On Tuesday I spotted K-75 in this field and all of the sudden, more eagles kept popping out of the trees near by. K-93, A-32, K-64, K-03 and even though id didn’t see K-56 and K-77 I knew they were near; we did see him yesterday though, hanging out with K-64 and feeding on carcasses.

Notice the different plumage between the two birds, you can definitely tell their age difference. Here’s another shot of K-64 so you can compare. Pete mentioned that K-64 is maturing rather quickly and that he might be getting a whiter head by next year already.

K-93

Here’s a video of K-77 scavenging on a deer carcass.

cont...

[eaglegal]

Everything is going great with our captive eagles as well. Pimu is back to eating her treats off my hand which is great, this ‘diet’ is definitely working for her. She takes a couple of pieces of the perches at first

and the she flies over to her new perch and that’s where she takes the food off of my hand

I don’t have any pictures of her eating ‘cause I’m alone when I do it and I’m afraid she’s going to get scared if I take out my camera, she scares easily so I have to move very slowly around her.
Hyde on the other hand doesn’t mind… he’s very photogenic!

Last night, coming back from the west end, the sunset was exceptionally beautiful.

Until next week
Steff

[peppermint]

Thanks, Steff...great update! Hyde really is a handsome guy...and I'm glad you're making progress with Pimu...any chance they'll extend your employment there since you are slowly gaining her trust? Outstanding sunset! We had one here, as well. Have a great weekend away.

[Cumbrian]

Great update Steff ... and super photos.

Yes ... we noticed the Cams Thanks to you both for all your hard work.

Enjoy the fishing ... and your weekend off.

[Eagle Duo]

Great report, Steff! What an awesome sight it must have been to see all those eagles at one time! Glad to hear you're seeing so many of them. Have you heard anything more about K73 and/or K74?

If you've looked at the Nest Watch thread for today, you can see that we were all studying the WE camera view and had concluded that you must have moved it. Looks like it's gonna be an awesome view. Love that you'll be able to zoom in and out by remote!

Glad to hear Pimu has settled down a bit and is accepting food off your hand. How exciting that must be for you! How are she & Hyde getting along? Does she seem curious at all when you're working with Hyde? Or are you too busy to notice? How many hours a day/week do you spend with them?

p.s. Have a great weekend!

[Paula eaglet momster]

Steff - Awesome! Thanks so much for the video, too!

Edit - I forgot to say THANK YOU for getting the Two Harbors and West End nests back online!

[Troth]

Oh Stephanie, what a great update. How encouraging to see the teenagers getter bigger and stronger. And how awesome to see so many at one time. They are gorgeous. You are getting to be quite the photographer, loved the video and sunset photo. Can't wait to see the new cams in action. Really glad to hear that you are making progress with Pimu, she is such an important girl. How nice for her to have such a handsome neighbor, Hyde is beautiful. THANK YOU IWS!!!

[Naturegal]

Steffani - Thank you so much for a really super update. Your photos are great and it must be so exciting to see so many eagles soaring overhead. Happy to hear that Pimu is coming around and Hyde is as handsome as ever. Have a great weekend and thanks again for keeping us informed.

[Eagle Guy]

Edit: Delete

[bigbird]

Steff, a very informative report. Loved the pictures. The eagles must seem like your own children. Thank You, Cathie

[Naturegal]

Peter - Thanks for the video. I thought it was my computer that couldn't open the first one, but this one is great.

[harpo516]

Steff - thanks for the update info - busy week for the eagles and it's great to see them hanging together! So it's the Ravens dirtying the nest - and here we thought they were the cleaning crew! Thank you and Peter so much for the work you've done this week on the cams - it's wonderful to see the nests and hopefully catch glimpses of visitors .

Love Pimu and Hyde Glad to hear that she's accepting you - maybe you need lipstick cam to get shots of Pimu - hmmmmmmmm Thank you so much for the effort you put into your working with the birds (and of course to that Mr. Peter too)

Wonderful photos - Have a super weekend - see ya later!

[Eagle Duo]

The lipstick camera! What a terrific idea! That would be awesome to watch!!! Bravo, Harpo!!!

[harpo516]

If ever a poop shot was called for - on the ravens it should have been ---- that little birdie pulled K77's tail feathers!

[Eagle Duo]

Harpo