Golden Eagle Webcam Nest 2022

[Ravens]

Hiautus: two minutes.



Twig placement: three minutes.



Helju was away for nearly fifty minutes. Blue hour. At this point, she finally settles in with her Margit for the night.



Goodnight dear Soomaa.

[Ravens]

Helju wakes.



04:01:57 - Twenty one minutes later, Helju tucks her beak between her scapular feathers, essentially hitting snooze on the alarm.

04:15:24 - Helju wakes.

04:17:50 - She leaves the eyrie.

The nest is visited by a small passerine. Is this one of the common chiffchaff's (Phylloscopus collybita) we've been hearing? Close up, bottom right corner. There are other songbirds with similar appearances in the region. Maybe someone with more experience with this species will confirm or deny. :>



An hour and forty four minutes have passed. Mom is still out and about. Margit did only a little preening and then went back to sleep soon after this screenshot.

[Ravens]

Two hours and thirty three minutes alone. No Helju yet. Margit stirs, stretches, poops, and plays with a pine cone before lying back down.



Margit peers straight up and calls to the sky - seeir seeir seeir. Who does she see?



They're home, both Helju and Kalju are home! As in the heart of their territory, at the moment. It is all home, really. We can see one of them upon their first approach, bottom right. Two hours and fifty three minutes have passed.

[Ravens]

Both parents have brought twigs. Helju first, alighting upon the curved branch.



Nice to see Kalju after the storm had kept him away.



07:11:33 - He soon leaves after Helju places her twig.

[Ravens]

Margit casts a pellet.



Helju offers excellent help. She holds up the pellet so we can get a good look at it. ;>



07:13:00 - Helju carries off the pellet, descending from the curved branch down to the right of our screens.

07:17:14 - She's returned with a branch.

Margit casts a second pellet.



07:18:56 - Helju leaves towards the open... peat bog, is it? West? She had grabbed this second pellet also, but it fell apart. She flew off regardless.

[Ravens]

Kalju delivers prey. It seems to have down feathering. Initial impression is of a duckling. Hopefully, we will get a better peek at it later.







08:12:16 - Kalju leaves towards the peat bog, sweeping more leftward.

[Ravens]

08:31:51 - Margit flapped her wings and didn't fall over. Such strength and balance!



Such good standing.

[Ravens]

09:16:29 - Helju returns.

She finds the prey. It is a bit damp now, and was apparently headless all along. I can't be certain of species.



09:19:18 - Helju feeds Margit.

09:22:37 - Helju leaves.

And... I must go. I am going a wandering tomorrow in our own local golden eagle territory. As I will be away most of the day, I will not be able to document. If anyone is willing to timestamp feedings and/or prey deliveries, that would be appreciated. No pressure. :> See you on the flip side. *hat tip*

[Susanne]

Great documentation, Ravens! Thank you They grow so quickly, don't they ...

[Ravens]

Great documentation, Ravens! Thank you They grow so quickly, don't they ...

Why thank you, Susanne! That they do. I feel very fortunate to be able to bear witness to their origin stories.

[Illi]

10.56 parent arrives with twig and leaves again after 3 min.
12.24 home again
Margit shows her balance

Why not to try eat cone

[Illi]

12.39. 27 new big pray in the nest



12.44 starts feeding

[Ravens]

First, thank you Illi for documenting and sharing on the forums! It would have been a bummer to have missed this prey.

Wandering didn't pan out for us this morning. We're going to try again tomorrow.

Let's eye this prey that Helju delivered at 12:39:26. It is well plucked. The feet look like phasianid feet with the less developed hallux (visible in other frames), no webbing, no lobes, and it may be a safe guess from the thickness of the tarsi that they are feathered. Large duck size, or larger.



The head feathering is intact. Right away we can narrow this fellow down to a male western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) or a male black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix). Those bright red wattles above the eyes nestled into pitch black feathering is characteristic.



But which? Scale alone would likely be telling, if I was more familiar with using a golden eagle for scale, and the proportions of both birds well plucked. Western capercaillie males are much larger. The beak. The beak of the western capercaillie is light in color, whilst the black grouse's rhamphotheca is black as a northern raven's. Keep in mind that it is not unusual for golden eagles to tear off beaks whilst plucking at a bird. Thus confidence can't be 100%. It is fairly close, though. There are a few frames where what could be a projection of at least a partial beak can be viewed, and the projection appears black.



I would place my bet on black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix).

Compare the carcasses of both species in this photograph with human hunters.
The right most bird is a black grouse, beside three western capercaillies. Make special note of the size and shape of the beaks.

Photograph of a subadult golden eagle with a black grouse in the talons. Compare size with first screenshot.

[Illi]

I would place my bet on black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix).

I think the same, both of them are pretty rear in Estonia. Only prays neck is very long and feathers are too light

[Illi]

18.01 Helju arrives with a big pine branch.
18.29 light rain, Margit asks food and Helju starts feeding
18.49 Helju leaves with some parts of the pray to keep nest clean

19.44 back with a twig also its starts raining.
Chick gets covered as much is possible

21.50 rain is over
Margit is also a little bit wet

[Ravens]

I think the same, both of them are pretty rear in Estonia. Only prays neck is very long and feathers are too light

What you are seeing is bare, plucked skin. Most of the bird was plucked before being brought to the nest. This can also reveal necks that appear longer than we realized a fully feathered bird possessed. Some feathers were left sporadically, and some in clusters, including under the wing, which were white. Typical for both species. :>

Photograph with glimpse under the wing of a black grouse.

[Ravens]

12:34:13 - We had a second Kalju visit today, I see. No prey, no sticks. Just a short visit where he hopped into the nest with Margit, peeked through the conifer sticks and needles, picked up a pine cone as she watched, dropped it. He found no prey scraps of interest, no pellets. Back to the curved branch of the eyrie tree, and away he went. Five minutes after this, Helju arrived with the black grouse. Five more minutes after that, after Helju initially offered Margit some plucked, white, grouse underwing feathers which the wind instead plucked from her beak, Margit's second feeding of the day commenced at 12:44:16.



Although, this is not a day for disciplined documentation on my end. How about some playful tugging of remiges and rectrices instead?

[Ravens]

View of Margit's crop after the final (?) feeding of the day at 18:28:27.

[Ravens]

Chick gets covered as much is possible

Adored that moment, Illi. I shall share a couple frames as well, I hope you won't mind.

[Illi]

Why should i, nice pictures.