Latvian WTE nest webcamera: Juras-Erglis 2014

[Owlie]

one does eat the old fish

Actually it is not so old, it came today but the eaglets were not hungry when getting it served - they have a storage of food: a good sign! One can see that they have been well fed during their "absence".


I like their stylish black outfit which won't last very long before it shifts to brownish.

When lying on the nest the two of them fill the whole width of the nest!

@ ame
and/or
@ Jānis
Is this a natural nest totally built by the eagles? It is impressive and the safety rims are high and wide enough!


I found out in the front page from earlier: "Later in the autumn birds began to prepare for the next breeding season – nest crown was supplied with branches and decorated with fresh conifer twigs." But there was no mention whether humans have helped in the nest building - maybe not, then it is just more impressive! And one understands that this huge construction takes several years to build.

around 15.00
At least one of the chicks can eat by itself already ... - at least peck at the prey ...

[ame]

it is such a joy to see 'our' eaglets again! they are so big and beautiful and they are even eating by themselves already. well, at least they are trying. i'm not sure how much they managed to get off those fish but at least some morsels.
and they can walk properly many steps in a row forward (not just backwards to the rim of the nest. )
and tail feathers have started to develop: there are long pins on their tails.
and what is most delighting: they are not fighting anymore.

thank you Jānis and your repair team Jānis Rudzītis and Uģis Bergmanis!
it's great that you could locate the fault easily and it was possible to repair it on spot. (Janis: you didn't have a measuring tape with you in the tree? the height of the nest still interests me. )

about the nest Jānis is the best person to give more detailed information. i don't know more than Jānis has told us so far... i got the impression that the nest is natural, not built by people. we can't see any manmade enforcements on the nest either. (Urmas and Renno had made some extra supports to the Saunja nest. the wires could be seen in the winter when there were no leaves in the trees.)

btw: the camera is now pointed a little lower than it used to be.

i think it begins to rain now...

[Owlie]

around 16.07
One of the eaglets is attacking/pecking at its parent, Lubana ...??? Who starts to feed from the fish on the nest to show her peaceful intentions ...


The chick seems to be very hungry, maybe the gesture was needed to show it to mum ... The eaglet rips the morsels from mum's beak before she can have a chance to serve them.

16:18
Lubana jumped to her parent branch on the left side.

[ame]

did i write "not fighting" too early?
i came too late to see but the end of feeding. it seemed to me that the eaglet who was fed turned to the back towards the sibling as in attempt to peck at it. then it turned back to Lubana and continued eating.

did the other eaglet get anything? feeding is over and Lubana swallowed the tail herself. the crop of the eaglet in the back of the nest looks very thin...


before leaving Lubana cleaned her beak against the branch.

[Owlie]

did i write "not fighting" too early?
i came too late to see but the end of feeding. it seemed to me that the eaglet who was fed turned to the back towards the sibling as in attempt to peck at it. then it turned back to Lubana and continued eating.

did the other eaglet get anything? feeding is over and Lubana swallowed the tail herself. the crop of the eaglet in the back of the nest looks very thin...

I experienced the moment (I also came in suddenly to the scenery) that the later eating eaglet pecked at Lubana's beak, directly and several times. Lubana even had to evade the attacks.

And the other eaglet did not get fed at all this time. I am not sure but I think the one who was not fed is the bigger one.

I see now, 16:32 that the fed eaglet was after all the bigger one - and the "second" wasn't fed at all..

[ame]

hmm... it's probable that the older eaglet is still dominating over the younger and has also become very demanding towards the parents. Sulli was the dominating one in 2009. when she was older than these two now she used to attack Sulev's prey so that Sulev fled the nest and left his fish there. sometimes Sulev's feet hardly touched the nest when he brought food. he left the cutting of food to Linda.

the eaglets don't have any considerable size difference so i guess both get enough food. the only difference that i can see after this short acquiantance is that the one who didn't get food this time (the eaglet on the left) has a bit more white downy feathers on its head as the greedy one (on the right). that might suggest that the left one is the younger who was the underdog when they were little.
this is the best picture which i managed to get and it's not good at all. the right one is back towards the camera, preening under its wing and so not all the white feathers on the head can't be seen.


i always wondered what the Warrior Prince was like as a kid. it was still an enfant terrible in the feeding ground in the winter 2013, having no respect towards any of the other eagles, but crabbed all the food it could get his paws on and screamed furiously MINE! MINE! MINE!
it also had a sibling and i bet that the Warrior Prince used to beat it like this bigger, bossy one. - i hope the Latvian forum members give him a name according to his/her personality.

[ame]

i recorded a video where the two are sitting side by side preening themselves. the Boss is on the right and the one that i think is younger is on the left side. this is the best picture that i got of their heads.




it's maybe easier to compare their plumage in moving picture than in still pictures.

[Owlie]

A nice video, ame!
The older one was sweetly "kissing" its sibling several times, but no aggression at all!
For me they don't look so much different from gorilla babies right now!


In many pics also when I went through from yesterday the bigger one stays on the right side from cam view and the smaller on the left ..or in the background ...

18:38
Just getting a view of my lousy net connection: I think it is Sartas who is in the nest and feeding someone

18:48
Feeding - by Sartas if I see correct - I couldn't get an idea whether both eaglets got their share, my net connection freezes the view once in a while ... Both chicks were at least simultaneously nearby Sartas' beak ...

[Janis Kuze]

it is such a joy to see 'our' eaglets again! they are so big and beautiful and they are even eating by themselves already. well, at least they are trying. i'm not sure how much they managed to get off those fish but at least some morsels.
and they can walk properly many steps in a row forward (not just backwards to the rim of the nest. )
and tail feathers have started to develop: there are long pins on their tails.
and what is most delighting: they are not fighting anymore.

thank you Jānis and your repair team Jānis Rudzītis and Uģis Bergmanis!
it's great that you could locate the fault easily and it was possible to repair it on spot. (Janis: you didn't have a measuring tape with you in the tree? the height of the nest still interests me. )

about the nest Jānis is the best person to give more detailed information. i don't know more than Jānis has told us so far... i got the impression that the nest is natural, not built by people. we can't see any manmade enforcements on the nest either. (Urmas and Renno had made some extra supports to the Saunja nest. the wires could be seen in the winter when there were no leaves in the trees.)

btw: the camera is now pointed a little lower than it used to be.

i think it begins to rain now...

This nest is actually naturally built and has not been supported by any means by humans.
Yes, we did measured the nest height - it is located 13,8 meters above the ground (so far the average height in Latvia was 22,9 m; minimum 14,3, maximum 31,6)..:) What makes it the lowest nest here at the moment.

[Owlie]

...
This nest is actually naturally built and has not been supported by any means by humans.
Yes, we did measured the nest height - it is located 13,8 meters above the ground (so far the average height in Latvia was 22,9 m; minimum 14,3, maximum 31,6)..:) What makes it the lowest nest here at the moment.

Really impressive measures for the eagles still! I admire the architecture above all - it is gorgeous!

The Danish nest this year was measured in 16 metres height.

So Lubana has not been anxious in vain this season - they live relatively near to ground where nothing-knowing-humans can wander.

I and surely many others, too, appreciate all your knowledge and information, Jānis! Thank you!

20:04
Lubana flew in from the back side of the nest - I see no prey with her ...

[Liz01]

I think it live a million flies in the nest.
The cuckoo is very close to the nest he calls so beautiful!

Janis, the numbers are impressive. Up to 22.9 m high, this is unbelievable. For ringing you have up there -great performance:thumbs:



Mom is back and eating a fish

Edit:Lubana flew off again

[Owlie]

...Janis, the numbers are impressive. Up to 22.9 m high, this is unbelievable. For ringing you have up there ...

Liz, that was the average in Latvia, this nest was lower than that - actually very low: 13,8 m above the ground ...

[Liz01]

Liz, that was the average in Latvia, this nest was lower than that - actually very low: 13,8 m above the ground ...

Owlie, I have already understood. I find a nest height of 22.9 m very impressive, so I wrote this

BTW, both have full crop

[Janis Kuze]

Mummy just brought duckling or baby Coot and one of the eaglets swallowed it in one piece

[Liz01]

Lubana cames back with a black
a chick has it taken her away and eaten, in one piece




EDIT:Ame, this was at 20:18:54,maybe you make a video? Everything went so fast. Lubana did not understand what happened there

[Owlie]

Mummy just brought duckling or baby Coot and one of the eaglets swallowed it in one piece

Are they such gourmands only in the beginning of their lives - or do they swallow the prey as one piece even later in their lives?

[lispet]

Earlier today
at 14:13

[Janne+Ais]

What about the assumed sex of the chicks?

[Janis Kuze]

Are they such gourmands only in the beginning of their lives - or do they swallow the prey as one piece even later in their lives?

Just before that Lubana did the same with fish - it depends on size of prey. The digestive system of predators is so powerful that they dod not bother themselves with cutting it up in small pieces.

[Owlie]

...Just before that Lubana did the same with fish - it depends on size of prey. The digestive system of predators is so powerful that they dod not bother themselves with cutting it up in small pieces.

I have seen it in the Danish nest - the parents there provide often eels, and the chicks nowadays swallow those fish as one piece - they really are "peanuts" for them .