looduskalender.ee

Two cameras – one on the ground near the feeding place and the other beside the perching tree – were started on November 16^th, and the direct stream transmission went on until March 5^th. At the end of the first week a heavy snowstorm hit the feeding grounds. The pine tree on one side of the aerial pushed it out of place and the connection was down for nearly one day. Fortunately this was the only break in communications during the period.

 

During the whole period the discussion forum was open. There were nearly three thousand posts. The Looduskalender team thanks all who have contributed to the discussions in the Forum, but special thanks must go to Forum member Mutikluti: it is thanks to your posts in the Forum that we know what happened in front of the cameras!

 

In autumn the birds were fed on the outskirts of the fen, where the eagles did not venture, with one exception: on December 2^nd an adult eagle was feeding there, in water that went up to its stomach. When the cold arrived the eagles became more daring and went walking on the ice, but they still did not dare to come to the edge of the forest. On January 16^th the ground camera was moved to a more open space some twenty metres away, and soon, on January 19^th, the first white-tailed eagle appeared, feeding in view of the camera. Until the beginning of March the eagles were eating on the ground; at times up to three eagles were present at the same time. From these memorable moments there are several videos in Looduskalender.

 

During the three and a half months more than a ton of game meat leftovers and animals killed on the roads (deer and boars) were brought to the eagles. Besides the eagles crows, ravens, magpies, jays, at least three different buzzards and one rough-legged buzzard fed on this and even a blackbird came in early spring to eat from the meat and lard. On the eagles’ perch-tree a greater spotted woodpecker was frequently seen, and also black woodpecker, sparrowhawk, great tits and grey woodpecker.

 

White-tailed eagles were most often seen in the web camera in the middle of December, at the turn of January/February and at the end of February (see the diagram below showing the numbers of observed birds over the period). During the winter the feeding site was visited by an estimated 40-50 different white-tailed eagles, based on information about the percentage of ringed eagles in the total population. Many birds stayed at the feeding grounds for a short time, but one bird, ringed in Finland, remained in camera view during the whole period.

  

White-tailed eagles have been ringed in Estonia from 1984, and during 25 years 670 white-tailed eagle chicks have been ringed. Through the web camera it was possible to establish the origins of the eagles. The codes on the rings were read from a shelter near the feeding ground. 45 % of the visiting eagles in the whole period were ringed and the origins of nine birds could be determined; the ringing places (blue dots) of these birds are shown on the map below. Three of the eagles were from Finland, five from Estonia and one from Latvia. The female eagle from Latvia nests 10 km from the feeding site in a long-established white-tailed eagle nesting place!