White-tailed Eagles in Hungary

[Black swan]

I also think of a marten, it is possible in darkness.
I am stunned to see this empty nest.

[Kukelke]

I read in the Ustream-chat that both parents were observed this morning 'digging' in the nest bowl and tearing some of the nest apart, as if they were looking for the little ones, or 'burrying' them or something like that.

And a few minutes ago there was a brief visit of black bird on the nest, a crow or so. Really a sad sight.

[Mamicja]

Ustream recording http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45446131 ... ght/484420
Watch marks 2:18:29 and 2:20:15

[Kukelke]

Ustream recording http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45446131 ... ght/484420
Watch marks 2:18:29 and 2:20:15

Just watched it (not entire video), and at the time you indicated it is one of the parents inspecting the nest bowl, then flying off and shortly after returning again. But it was too dark to see if the little ones still were there or not. The white spots could be branches, or the eaglets.

EDIT:
Watched the video a bit more as daylight returned... no eaglets then, so it looks like the eaglets were gone already at 2:18 when the parent inspected the nest bowl and flew off and returned again...

[macko50]

Hello Everybody!

Sorry to say, but nobody knows more about what has happened. :(

The experts will investigate the nest soon.

[Black swan]

Watch marks 2:18:29 and 2:20:15: I think that was Emese. To see 2 black spots on her white tail-feathers.

Later adult- could be Hunor. Seems smaller to me, also bright wing edge.

Is theory:
It could have been a martens raid...
Emese could not fend off that alone.
Martens too fast and ruthless.
Emese has the nest not leave until it was light. Then wing stretch, then leave.
A terrible Drama...

Hope experts find out more.

[Kukelke]

Hello Everybody!

Sorry to say, but nobody knows more about what has happened. :(

The experts will investigate the nest soon.

macko50, perhaps it isn't the right time now, but nevertheless I want to thank you for all your updates and videos from this nest.

And I really hope and pray that the investigation shows it wasn't humans who did this. A 'natural cause' like a marten on the prowl is easier to accept for me than poachers or something like that.
And after watching nests for a few years now I know that drama is just a part of it, it happens more often than we think, but it is and remains always hard for us watchers when it happens, no matter how neutral you try to be. I was prepared that #3 might not make it, as is often the case with runts, but he did just fine, plenty of food, eating well, even a lil' bonk on one of his older siblings yesterday... but to see all 3 eaglets gone just makes me very sad.

[fraszka]

I still can't believe that. It may sound inappropriate, but I daresay I feel devastated. I did hope that there will be the nest with three fledglings, especially that Emese and Hunor did their job extremely well, the young ones were well fed and looked after, and even the youngest eaglet seemed to have a future ahead of it.
Is there any chance that E & H will be back to this nest next year ?

macko50, thank you for your pics, vids and info. Hope we'll be more lucky next year, as this one definitely isn't favourable neither for eagles or "eagleholics".

[Lucy]

Everything looked so promising, three beautiful, healthy, well-fed eaglets, and caring parents ... and suddenly such a tragedy. It's very depressing and difficult to accept.

[Black swan]

Every day I watched the nest and every day I looked in here.
It's grown on me.
Yesterday I was at home and had plenty of time to watch this nest.
I was so happy about the many feedings and that the youngest got also good to eat.
I also wrote in chat there.
It seemed so peaceful everything.
And I do not know, maybe I made therefore that photo, even though it was almost dark.

Today, my thoughts the whole day in this drama.

Macko, a few days ago I thanked you for updates and vid's and finally I wrote: "Hope everything stays as good as before."
Nature can be cruel, we have just never noticed ...

I'm also sorry for the Hungarian Eagle Friends. What a happiness such a wonderful Eagle Family to have in their home.

[macdoum]

Sending regrets and sympathy to Macko/George & all the eagle community there.

Is there a chance this couple will lay eggs again this season,or is it too late.?

[macko50]

RIP WTE Chicks.

Thank you to everyone who watched and loved them.
A promising family was without problems.
Very sorry for them.

[Lucy]

This extremely sad event reminded me of a method for preventing the penetration of nests by martens, which I learned very recently.

A few days ago, I watched on TV a documentary wildlife film of Polish Greater Spotted Eagles. In one of the scenes, a marten began to climb the nest-tree with a young Greater Spotted Eagle waiting for the return of parents inside the nest. It seemed that the fate of the bird was doomed. But unexpectedly, the marten jumped out of the tree-trunk suddenly, and ran away very quickly. The narrator explained that the bark of nest-trees of the strictly protected birds is periodically lubricated with a turpentine, the smell of which is not tolerated by the martens, and, therefore, is very effective in deterring them.

However, whether this method is effective in each case and if it is always possible to use, I do not know.

[Manu]

I'm so sorry to read this really, really sad news . R.I.P. little ones .

[Starling]

Very sad happenings in Hungary...

I just noticed this video in Facebook "Hungary White Tailed Eagles 3-30-2014 "Weird Happenings"
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=83 ... =2&theater

Live Video & Webcams Of The World:
"Strange things happened at the Nest on Friday around 6pm'ish. Some weird Pole was being dangled from the canopy & landing on the Nest & what looks like to be a rope seems to levitate from the ground on the right side of the Nest. This rope looks like it was pulled up into the canopy a little bit till it was pulled back down.

What is this? Is this the person who stole or removed Emese & the eaglets screwing with us?, What else could this be, has to be someone seeing it cant be anything else.

We then see Hunor land at the nest probably within a 1/2 hour after the weirdness happened. We also see him land again at the Nest on Saturday morning. I havent seen him since nor have I seen Emese since Thursday night. Could She also have disappeared with the Chicks?......"


In the video there is weird rope on the right side. What is that??

[airras]

the truth is that I do not understand anything at all

[Kukelke]

Very sad happenings in Hungary...

I just noticed this video in Facebook "Hungary White Tailed Eagles 3-30-2014 "Weird Happenings"
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=83 ... =2&theater

Live Video & Webcams Of The World:
"Strange things happened at the Nest on Friday around 6pm'ish. Some weird Pole was being dangled from the canopy & landing on the Nest & what looks like to be a rope seems to levitate from the ground on the right side of the Nest. This rope looks like it was pulled up into the canopy a little bit till it was pulled back down.

What is this? Is this the person who stole or removed Emese & the eaglets screwing with us?, What else could this be, has to be someone seeing it cant be anything else.

We then see Hunor land at the nest probably within a 1/2 hour after the weirdness happened. We also see him land again at the Nest on Saturday morning. I havent seen him since nor have I seen Emese since Thursday night. Could She also have disappeared with the Chicks?......"


In the video there is weird rope on the right side. What is that??

That rope is definately a sign of human activity... however, is that a rope used by the local wildlife rangers when they heard the sad news and went to investigate the nest? At what time went the rangers to investigate? Or was the rope there earlier already? If the latter is the case, things look really ugly, and then I don't buy the explanation anymore that it was a marten... but instead go for my initial theory of poachers or local farmers who are afraid the eagles would take their lifestock.

I hope and pray that it isn't the case, but if so, that police and rangers, and volunteers and everybody else who love nature keep an eye open and try to help catch the culprits. Also that they check suspect websites where protected/endangered/exotic species are bought and sold. Because if humans are responsible for this, then may every single bone in their rotten bodies be broken.

[Kukelke]

The more I think about it, the less I am buying the official 'it was probably a marten'-version. This case is fishy, not to say it stinks, if you ask me.

First of all the female would sit on their young at night at this stage, to keep them warm, thus covering them with her body.
Second, also the male would usually branch in the same tree as the nest is, keeping an eye on mother and children.
Third, if a marten climbed up the tree, the adults would have noticed long before the marten reached the nest itself.

Both male and female would have called loudly to deter the marten, and the female would rise and spread her wings and be between the marten and her eaglets. Even if the marten wasn't chased off by all this, and could get to the eaglets, he would leave a mess of blood and down and feathers, and it is pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to eat them all. Perhaps kill them all, but not eat them all, so remains of the eaglets should have been visible as soon as it became light. But nothing was seen, no traces whatsoever. Also, an adult eagle has no problems killing a marten, which is much smaller than an adult eagle. Yes, I know that martens are night animals and WTE's are not, thus having an advantage here. Yes, I know martens are fast and ferocious too, but still.

And now there is this rope, which as said, is a clear sign of human activity.
Furthermore I find that the ranger(s) who went to investigate the nest area, were pretty fast, perhaps a bit too fast, with saying no traces of human activity, and that it likely was a marten who did it. Seems to me they did not a good job, otherwise they would have seen that rope. Unless that rope was used by them to get to the nest in order to look for clues. But then they would have mentioned that in their report, wouldn't they? (*)

So, all in all it seems to me much more likely that humans did this. A clear act of fauna-criminality.
I don't know how far the nest is from roads and such, how accesable it is, but from the pictures of the area it looks like an open forest. Everybody who ever has been in a forest at night, knows how difficult, if not impossible, it is to find your way there when you are not familiar with the place. Thus making me think it were locally known people.

Is my theory far-fetched? Perhaps it is, but until there's hard evidence that it really was a marten (or other natural predator) I tend to think local humans are behind this tragedy. I know all this speculation doesn't bring back the eaglets and parents (parents haven't been seen since friday morning), but at least it might give some peace of mind.


(*) When I was writing this, I checked the facebook page Starling mentioned, and this comment was placed there:

"The arrow is shot by the rangers to fix a rope to be able to climb up and check the nest at close range."

[Starling]

I´m afraid we will never know what happened...
I don´t know about martens, but I´m thinking how marten would eat three chicks. Can it carry/eat 3 chicks at the same time (or in a row)? Would it go down from the tree with one chick and eat it and return for two more times? I really don´t know...

But what I´ve seen/heard human race doing to to animals, nothing would surprise me anymore.

[ame]

good heavens! i was 'away' from this nest for a few days and what do i see: the babies are gone!

it's so so very sad. i'm so sorry for Macko/George and others who followed the life at this nest and reported to us about the developments here. what ever the reason for this is knowing it will not bring the babies back. what a loss.

having sound on the camera might help to understand what happened there. i think that the nest robber had already been there before the parent took off from the nest at 2h20'15'' in the recording. to me it seemed like it called about a minute before departure. then the nest was empty (no parent) for a minute. after coming back the parent dug the nest and then just sat on the rim... looking so sad.

maybe the darkness helped the marten or an owl. it was so dark that i doubt if any human could have been there without any artificial light. in daylight i think that eagles should be able to defend their nest against almost anything (except humans). i believe the rangers when they say that there were no signs of humans.
i saw two years ago how a female buzzard defended her nest successfully against a marten but it was light then (even though it was very early). i found this episode. it happened in Linda's and Sulev's old nest:
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