Catalina Update, Wednesday, March 28

Hello All,

Everything is still going well with all the eggs on Catalina. I still have 7 eggs in the incubator and the all seem to be healthy at this point. Two of the West End eggs seem to be starting their draw down, which leads up to internal pipping (breaking into the air cell). Hopefully that will occur in the next day or two. All the rest of the eggs are due by the end of next week.

We are now able to pick up the heart beat of the embryos using the "Egg Buddy". A healthy heart rate is about 200-240 beats per minute. This video shows what we see on the monitor. The sounds in the background are the calls that I'm playing to the incubating eggs.



All the eggs in the nests are still there. Today, Steffani reported that the Pinnacle Rock birds were standing up and looking at the eggs. The first one is actually supposed to hatch in the next day or two, so it is possible a chick has internally pipped and is vocalizing in the egg. We'll be watching them all day for the next couple of days.

The Seal Rocks birds still have their two eggs. Those eggs are due around April 6 and 9th.

Hopefully next week we'll have successful hatches to report (although I'll post in the forum before then if we have some news).

Wow! Sounds look good news all around. How does the heart monitor pick up the heartbeat? Is it just placed on the egg?

Maybe we will see some chicks on the 10th????

Cynthia and I have our fostering tour on the 10th of April.. We will be thrilled to see some eggs, but a baby chick would be awsome!!.

This is good news for Catalina nest eggs, chicks actually surviving the DDT levels and the shells not breaking. It's a milestone, is it not?

Thank you! That heart rate moniter is very neat! Looking forward to eaglet updates. I love the Seal Rocks eagles and hope there's a hatch on the 6th, which is Alger's 10th birthday. Two birthdays would be a thrill!

Oh, so great!!!
Since eye surgery is on the 5th, I will probably miss all the excitement so I hope everyone gets lots and lots of pix and videos that I can look at later.
My daughter will check my email each evening and read it to me so if the chicks hatch or any other exciting news please write and tell me about it.
Purty pleeze????
Thanks in advance

How awesome to watch the monitoring of the chicks heart beat - won't be long now before we have some fuzzy little chicks - Hoooraaay! Thanks Peter for sharing your exciting work with us. Thanks to you and Steffani for keeping us posted when the hatching begins.

Awesome Peter - so I'm learning that "pipping" is a term for breaking thru / they break thru into the air cell then they work on breaking down the inside of the shell to eventually break thru to the outside - hmmmm.... And I now know what drawing down is! Full, I'm telling you, my brain is getting real full!

Love the Egg Buddy - that's a lot of heartbeat - now will have to go see how much mine is in relation - more learning!

Didn't know you play mom/dad sounds for the eggs - that's cool - so you are working on the imprinting all the time ..... some more hmmmmmmmmm

Again awesome - now we are all counting days and hours - can't wait for your news as each chick appears (will we be able to get day by day announcement - even if one-liner / cause we know if you weren't busy enough - you surely are now) - oh duh - went back and read your post again (like the first 4 times wasn't enough - and see that you will be keeping us posted - sorry - wet noodle time.

Hang in there - you guys are doing a wonderful thing!!

Oh boy...I can't contain myself! I feel like I'm going to jump right out of my skin! I can't wait to watch K-26 and K-10 staring down at their eggs! And, the best part is...we have sound!!

Dr. Sharpe and Steffani, you are sooo lucky to be there to witness these miracles firsthand! Thanks so very much for posting the video. I love the eagle calls in the background.

Insert LOUD SHRILL SCREAM. INSERT OFF KEY SINGING..."I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it, I know, I know, I know, we're gonna have some eaglets!"

Oh boy, oh boy, can't wait. What wonderful and exciting news indeed. Especially the news that the real eggs in the nests are still healthly and waiting to hatch. Won't this be a first in years? Very historical and positive, you must be so excited and proud. I know I am!!! Thanks Peter and the IWS Crew.

Exactly my thoughts (and question) also. Sounds like incredibly good news about possible diminishing DDT levels!

What exciting news! Thanks so much for another super update! We are so excited and looking forward to our tour next week and hopefully seeing chicks!

Info on the Buddy moniter--very neat product.

http://www.avianbiotech.com/buddy.htm

Dr. Peter thanks so much for the recent lesson on pipping. I knew about pipping, but not in detail and now I know what drawing down means also. You are so great to teach us and have so much patiences with all our questions. I am so enthralled with the heartbeat and the mom and dad calls . that is so neat. Wish I was coming to see them . But you make it so we can be there even if we are not there in person. I am thrilled with Steffani's report that the Pinnacle Rock s were showing signs of pipping . Can't wait until these hatch so we can be assured that the DDT levels are going down enough to have our hatch their own babies.
The Seal Rocks still having their eggs is great news. Such good news all around. Thanks to you and Steffani for all that you do and let us look into also.

Frances