Estonian WTE Webcam 2016

[ame]

New Estonian white-tailed sea eagle nest camera


On LK news on January 31st was a video by Urmas Lett.

http://www.looduskalender.ee/node/26246

We shall update more information as soon as we learn more about this nest.



Camera links

JWPlayer/Pontu player: http://pontu.eenet.ee/player/merikotkas.html
or http://www.eenet.ee/EENet/merikotkas.html

VLC player and Android: rtsp://193.40.133.138/live/merikotkas

iPad and iPhones: http://193.40.133.138/live/merikotkas/playlist.m3u8

You can also try this link:
viewtopic.php?p=488106#p488106

The camera can be found in this address:
for VLC and Potplayer:
rtmp://193.40.133.138/live/merikotkas

Some of these addresses have not been tried yet. Please inform us if there are problems. There have been some irregularities since the stream changed partly to Youtube.


Introduction to this nest camera in the Looduskalender

by Eagle-Urmas Sellis (translated in English) can be found
* in the old style Looduskalender:
http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/26484
* in the new style Looduskalender:
http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/en/node/67


All white-tailed sea eagle news in Looduskalender

* in the old style Looduskalender:
http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/2906 (in English)
http://www.looduskalender.ee/node/2881 (in Estonian)
* in the new style Looduskalender:
http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/en/taxonomy/term/11/ (in English)
http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/merikotkakaamerad (in Estonian)

[ame]

Pontu archive

The address of the Pontu archive for this camera is: http://193.40.124.24/2016-merikotkas/

Regular saving of Pontu still pictures started on Feb 8 and video recording on Feb 12. Both were concluded on Aug 10.

For information about how Pontu archive works and what can be found there please read here:
viewtopic.php?p=433900#p433900
Juras-Erglis should be replaced with the word Merikotkas. Otherwise the instructions should be similar. Please let us know if it is not so.

[ame]

Important events at the nest

• * Feb 22: The male who seems to be the nest owner brought a bride to check the nest. The young female wore rings: the Estonian blue-over-white country ring on the right tarsus and on the left a black-over-blue year ring from year 2009 and individual code B450. Urmas Sellis told that the bird was ringed by Raivo Endrekson on 28.05.2009 as a nestling in nest ca 50 km South of the current camera nest as one of two chicks in nest.
  The couple began nest building work and mated frequently both in camera view and outside it.
  
  * March 8: The first egg was seen in the early morning at first light. It was laid during the dark time when camera was off:
  viewtopic.php?p=445072#p445072
  The expected hatching day will be April 14th (+/- a day or two) as the average incubation time is 38 days (36 - 42 days in some sources).
  
  * March 11: Anna laid the second egg at 16:53.
  viewtopic.php?p=445835#p445835
  The expected hatching day will be April 17th.
  
  * March 15: The third egg was seen in the early morning at first light. It was laid during the dark time when camera was off:
  viewtopic.php?p=446719#p446719
  The expected hatching day will be April 21st.
  
  * April 13: In the early morning at about 6 am a pip hole could be seen on one of the eggs.
  viewtopic.php?p=454061#p454061
  A little later egg talk was heard. Finally at 14:50 the chick rolled out of the egg after about 36 and half days of incubation (36d 7h - 36d 19h taking the uncertainties into account).
  viewtopic.php?p=454221#p454221
  
  * April 16: The second chick had hatched in the early morning. It was still wet when it was seen for the first time at 6:07, so it had hatched only recently. It hatched after about 35 and half days of incubation.
  viewtopic.php?p=455068#p455068
  The first signs of the egg cracking were seen in the previous afternoon at 15:34. Later in the afternoon the egg talked loud.
  viewtopic.php?p=454894#p454894
  
  * April 19: In the early morning at 5:55 a pip hole could be seen on the last egg.
  viewtopic.php?p=456270#p456270
  The hole got gradually bigger during the day and stronger and strong egg talk was heard. Finally at 19:44 the third chick rolled out of the egg after about 36 days of incubation (35d 12h - 36d taking the uncertainties into account).
  viewtopic.php?p=456630#p456630
  
  * May 23: Two eaglets were named by the personnel of the sponsoring company who gave the name Nord to the oldest Eaglet. Mutikluti named the youngest eaglet Taibu.
  viewtopic.php?p=464388#p464388
  The last of the eaglets, the middle eaglet, got a name in a voting by the forum members: Rahu.
  viewtopic.php?p=469802#p469802
  
  * May 26: The eaglets were ringed by Urmas Sellis. On their right leg they got the Estonian country ring with blue over white stripes with codes M1162 for Nord, M1161 for Rahu and M1163 for Taibu. On their left legs the eaglets got black rings with codes E332 for Nord, E331 for Rahu and E333 for Taibu. Later Urmas gave the measurement results:
  viewtopic.php?p=472067#p472067
  He concluded that the youngest Taibu who was heaviest is a female. About the other two he was uncertain.
  
  * June 15: The nest began to disintegrate gradually and within a few days only some biggest branches were left. The reason was probably the vigorous wing exercises of the three eaglets rumbling around the nest. Also strong winds shook the foundations of the nest. Eaglets became true branchlings.
  viewtopic.php?p=477589#p477589
  
  * June 23: The second oldest eaglet Rahu fell out of the remains of the nest in a rush towards a fish. He was 68 days old. He was then heard calling near the nest tree. He returned flying to the nest on June 27th at the age of 72 days.
  
  * June 28: The oldest eaglet Nord flew off the nest tree at the age of 76 days.
  
  * July 5: The youngest eaglet Taibu fell off the branch were she was wing exercising. She was 77 days old.
  
  The eagles were still seen and especially heard in the area around the nest. Only once one of the eaglets returned to spend the night roosting on a branch.

tuomokoo made two videos of the nest life in this season.




Thank you tuomokoo!

[ame]

The inhabitants


The nest was found only last year by Renno Nellis, and the nest is not much older than that. Last year no eaglets grew up here, and thus installing the camera is a bit of a risk, writes Urmas Sellis in his introduction to the nest in the Merikotkas-news. He continues: "Quite many different birds visited the nest in the first half of February, among them an adult bird that seems to be the owner of the nest. We saw a white-tailed eagle in the nest for the first time on January 28th; however, we were not able to watch earlier either."

The male stands in front and the Estonian B450 female in the background behind him in the picture below. The female was ringed as a nestling in 2009 so she will be 7 years old this early summer. Her eyes have not yet become the pale yellow colour of fully mature eagles, like the male's eyes have.


On Feb 26th the eagles were given names by their camera-godparent collaborating company ETS NORD.
The female will be called Anna and the male Uku.
Thank you for the beautiful names.

The rings of Anna serve as an excellent marker for separating the eagles from each other. It is not, however, always possible to see the rings. Then other markers will be needed. In some cases (mostly out of breeding season) an adult eagle other than Uku may visit nest alone. In these cases it is useful to have some other markers for identifying the birds. - For more information about separating the sexes of WTEs in general please see here:
viewtopic.php?p=433902#p433902

The WTEs' white tails have black spots which are individual in form and configuration. The appearance of the spots may vary from one occasion to another depending on how folded or wide the tail is. We have started to collect pictures of the tails of both Anna and Uku for reference in such cases when identification is difficult.
The Anna-album can be found here:
http://s561.photobucket.com/user/anmael ... t=3&page=1
and the Uku- album here:
http://s561.photobucket.com/user/anmael ... t=9&page=1

[ame]

Nest location

The white-tailed eagles' nest camera is located at a nest in West Estonia in the Saunja bay region, in the neighbourhood of the nest of Linda and Sulev whose lives we have watched previously (see forum).
The Silma nature reserve (Silma looduskaitseala in Estonian; https://www.visitestonia.com/en/silma-nature-reserve ) is located in the Saunja bay region but this nest is probably not in the nature reserve. Haapsalu is closest big city. More exact information of the location is not given due to safety reasons.


Map of Western Estonia.

The view from the nest opens to a bay with plenty of birds where the white-tailed eagles go hunting (see the picture in the first post on this page). More information about Saunja bay here:
http://www.looduskeskus.noarootsi.ee/?p=189&lang=en


Eagle-eye view on Saunja bay.

[ame]

The camera equipmet

The camera and all other necessary equipment were installed in mid-January by Urmas Selllis, Renno Nellis (whom we already know) and two other crew members Omar and Triin. The work took two days in very cold weather, around -15⁰C. Later Renno and Omar returned to adjust a few minor details.


Renno and Omar working with solar panels, with two batteries on the right. Such a set of batteries may weigh up to 100 kg. On a cold winter day a fire supplies an opportunity to warms the hands.


Solar panels being mounted on a tree.


The camera system is equipped with a light-sensitive switch which turns off all power-consuming devices in the evenings and back on in the mornings as light returns. This saves energy significantly and there will be no need to change batteries during the season. Such a trip might disturb the nest life of the eagles. The batteries are charged by solar panels which were mounted in a tree. Solar panels work well when they are not covered by snow and the sun shines. Later in summer days will be longer and it is expected that camera image can be transmitted all day and night. - For more details about the camera system please read the escription by Urmas Sellis. This description is also the source for most of the information here.
http://www.looduskalender.ee/en/node/26484


Urmas Sellis in the nest tree under the nest, giving a yardstick to which compare the size of the nest. The nest is still fairly small for an eagle's nest which tells that it is not very old. Nests become bigger and bigger as new material is added every year.


The nest tree is a pine (Pinus sylvestris) on the right in a group of three pines.

[ame]

reserved

[ame]

Hello!
I found link to the new nest white-tailed eagles :-)


http://pontu.eenet.ee/player/merikotkas.html

Stream looks to be unstable...

the link works beautiful sight

Thank you bielikoholik

Thank You
I found
VLC player rtsp://193.40.133.138/live/merikotkas

[ame]

it seems that today was only a test run of broadcasting the stream. i noticed at about 17:25 that the camera didn't work any more.

i haven't found anything yet in the Pontu archive either.
http://193.40.124.24/
the camera hasn't been published yet...

[Janne+Ais]

Maybe this cam is somewhere in Estonia? (Because of the word "merikotka)

[Liz01]

Maybe this cam is somewhere in Estonia? (Because of the word "merikotka)

Urmas had made a video. it is on the frontpage
http://www.looduskalender.ee/node/26246
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
edit (by ame):
i copied Solo's swimming eagle video here:
viewtopic.php?p=439484#p439484
i think it will be in a suitable place there.
check the video: the swimming eagle is worth seeing!

[ame]

Feb 6

the camera is on.

i don't know when it has started. it's still not listed anywhere officially, not even unofficially. except here.

[Liz01]

9:23 a gret tit visit the nest

[lianaliesma]

9:23 a gret tit visit the nest

[Liz01]

10:43 stream not found

Lianaliesma

thank you for the picture

i was too slow

[ame]

10:41 the camera stopped. i wonder if they stopped running it for a longer time.

it was now placed on the Pontu-page instead of Käsmu camera.
http://pontu.eenet.ee/

10:44 still "Stream not found."

the scenery is so refreshingly green there because of the evergreen pines.

[Liz01]

the stream is back

[Liz01]

13:10 it snows It is so bright on this place, that I think the nest is by the sea

[Abigyl]

14:23 Still snowing in "Somewhere"

[Trine]

14:23 Still snowing in "Somewhere"

IF this cam is located in Estonia... According to the weather forecast websites it was snowing only in the western (or north-western according to some sites) part of mainland Estonia.
(And I can confirm that the weather has been much more brighter in the south-eastern portion of the country.)