Looduskalender

Oct 26

Good morning everybody! Their Majesties are on board:

07:47: One WTE on the p-branch, the other one - presumably -on a branch at the right, loud duet.



So it was E 340 on the p-branch. He is first in the nest bowl, then joined by 'Smiley".

07:54: After doing a little 'nest work ' together, E 340 has perched on the p-branch again. 'Smiley' jumps onto a branch at the left and preens herself.
07:59: E 340 -> small PS, jumps onto a branch at the right.
08:03:55: E 340 leaves the tree.
08:05:45: 'Smiley' follows.

Around 15:50, the cam resigns - mike still on.- Back at 16:04 (probably not for long, sky was and is cloudy).- And off again. Between the on-and-offs, I thought I heard the last syllable of an eagle song?

Thank you Grieta! Wonderful to have some video footage (which I myself cannot produce).

December 28

Hello!

The year is coming to an end and the Forum season '23 will probably start soon.

Maybe Kotkaklubi has an idea to create a separate Forum section for all WT sea eagles with a transmitter?
There are about as many WT eagles with transmitter as black storks with transmitter. There are interesting flight routes and there are many questions.

Or is there a club member or expert who can comment on the WT eagles flight routes in the same Migration Map chapter?
If there is someone who can take on this difficult job. Maybe once a week or once a month.

Happy New Year and a peaceful sky for birds and people!

hello jersi!

Kotkaklubi and Looduskalender are separate although in co-operation. a few people are members in both. i don't know if anyone has thought about setting up a migration map for eagles. it's a lot of work...maybe Triine could comment something on this subject.

Summary of the 2022 season - timeline

Feb 08: The webcam transmits first pictures of the nest. First subadult WTE visitor.

Feb 27: A ringed Estonian female WTE, E 321, arrives on the nest.
She was ringed by Renno Nellis in 2015, about 40 km north of Matsalu. Urmas adds info on right leg number on March 01: M1201.

March 03: First mating at nest site.
The nest becomes a site of keen interest for many WTEs: Subadults frequently try out how bonded the ringed female, E 321, is with one or another male.
March 4 ff.: Several matings.
Juveniles discover the nest, too, but are mostly tolerated by current nest owners.
March 09: The current pair 'shares' a piece of fish.

March 13 ff.: WTE males begin to fight for nest and mate supremacy.
March 14: The fights become harder.
March 15: The female E321 has to experience a mate change.
March 16: The new male is light-eyed, the former male still had amber eyes.
An unringed new female on the nest, too.
March 17: Very often, there are (at least) three WTEs on and around the nest site.

March 18: The day of bloody feet.
See Kotkaklubi's YT-video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFljweHDzJc&t=23s


March 20 ff.: It doesn't seem to be clear which male WTE claims ownership of nest and mate, there are still some very interested males around, and the female is continuously challenged. And so is her current mate, 'Light eyes-angry eyebrows'.
March 24: Heavy fighting between the males. 'Light-eyes-angry eyebrows' receives a bloody beak injury.
March 25: 'Scarface-light eyes-angry eyebrows' disappears in the course of the day. A new male on the nest.
Following the disappearance (and likely defeat of the former male): Several subadult male WTEs try their luck with the female, a peak is March 27.
March 28: Forum members discuss whether the male is the same that has been seen on the nest on March 05 ff.

March 30: Apparently two pairs of WTEs are fighting for the nest today. Bloody feet and bloody beaks.
First appearance of E 340! (M1215 on the right leg). He was ringed by Dr Madis Leivits in 2015 and plays an important part in Dr Leivits' study: Distinctive mitogenomic lineages within populations of White-tailed Eagles
https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab081

March 31: E 340 brings some nesting material and does what we have so often seen in the months following: settles down in the nest, tests the bedding and enjoys some comfy moments. He is what I would call: a very courteous mate to any female.
April 01: Again fighting .
April 12: An osprey visits the tree and perches on the poop-branch.

April 18: A ringed Estonian WTE female appears on the nest, together with E340.
April 20: WTE on the nest with prey. She is identified as E 321 (previously on the nest from Feb 27 - March 18).
April 23: Heavy fighting on the nest between E 340 and another male WTE, identified as E 019. (According to Urmas, ringed in 2012)
April 26: E 321 seems to have been involved in a fight, too. She carries some wounds on her talons.

May 05: An unringed female WTE with wounds on her talons appears at the nest site. And she has an injury on the right side of her beak.
Grieta enlightens us: It is the same female that was on the nest until April 18 - her tail marks are well recognizable: they look like a 'Smiley' - and henceforth, we call her "Smiley".
__________________________________________
The prominent female WTEs claiming ownership twice:
E 321 Feb 27- March 18 and again: April 18 -May 05;
'Smiley', March 18 -April 18, May 05 until the day the cam stopped transmitting in 2022.
The male E 340 was mate of: 'Smiley' - E 321 - 'Smiley'


<to be continued ...>

May: The pair begins to settle in. Some 'floaters' pass by and juvenile WTEs visit, as on May 14. Hay is brought for comfy bedding.
But it is clear now that the breeding season is over this year after all these serious energy and time consuming territorial fights and the mate-'carrousel' .

May 22: A ringed Latvian WTE visitor: H515, ringed by Janis Kuze in 2018 (SW of Kurzeme), first sighting!
May 28: Elk mother and a calf cross the meadow.

June: For the first time, 'Smiley' brings a fresh twig to the nest on June 08 and some more branches the next days. The message: This is HOME.
June 19: A stranger, a female WTE, annoys the nest owners, but the situation is cleared.

July: The pair is frequently on the nest.
July 30: Two long-eared Owlets in the nest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaiLBxl8krA&t=1s - thank you ame!

August: The pair is seen on the nest throughout the whole month.
August 14: A ringed male WTE visitor from Estonia, ring number could unfortunately not be identified.
August 22: A buzzard visits.
Aug 23 - 31: No live stream.

Sept 01: Stream returns.
Sept 07: A Black Woodpecker shows up.
Sept 14 and 23: White-backed Woodpecker in the tree.
The webcam batteries are losing more and more power by now. The eagles do not come to the nest as frequently as before, and if they do, not always as a pair.

October: On Oct 13, 'Smiley' has to get rid of a stranger.
And by the end of October, the cam says goodbye.

My personal conclusion and outlook:
In May, the current nest owners E 340 and 'Smiley' began to stabilize their old/new bond and to defend their territory successfully. Pressure by strangers had been reduced, due to the course of the season.

As of now, prospects are quite good regarding the next season - if both of them are healthy, their bond continues and the territory is still theirs.

For me, Spring 2022 was revealing in many aspects: WTE bonding may be very complicated, the return and exchange/reconquest of former partners was surprising to me. The heavy impact of interested parties regarding the nest site as well. We have seen a large number of WTEs of all ages, and especially the subadult males, on the brink of finally and very seriously entering 'adult business' was interesting to watch. So many amber-eyed males!

Again, I would like to thank all forum members who have contributed to the reporting with video footage, pictures, observations (eg tail mark discussions) and thank you also to Kotkaklubi and Janis Kuze for highly valued information on ring-bearing WTEs.

thank you Susanne for the summary!

now all we can do is to wait for news about the next season. hopefully we shall be able to see what will happen to our new couple this year.

*****
good morning to all

Susanne, thank you for the very good recap. At least you kept track.
great work! !

ame, sova! Good morning!
Thank you!
Yes, sova, you're right: keeping track of the happenings was one of the most demanding challenges last year for everybody who watched. Plus: I would love to hear from ornithologists if there was anything new and/or exceptional which could be added to their knowledge on WTE behaviour.

Thanks for perfect report.

When will be new thread for 2023 and webcam turned on?

Kallisto: We don't know yet, but you will of course be informed as soon as there is reliable info.

i have asked first Triine and then Urmas about the camera situation. Triine hasn't replied, probably as there isn't much to tell. Urmas gave the following information:

... Omar is building the methanol power station for Matsalu
WtE webcam, as there is difficult to place solar panels in good open
place. Hope he will be successful.

But Matsalu forest is currently filled with water, so anyway we need to
wait for better conditions. Also weather was always very unsuitable for
these works.

the forest is flooded! the weather has been pretty bad in Durbe and probably it has been the same in Matsalu (and here in Turku; Matsalu is halfway between the two places.)

so we need to wait patiently. patience is our prime virtue.

Susanne wrote: ↑January 13th, 2023, 9:54 am Summary of the 2022 season - timeline...

Susanne, that's a incredible great work! Thank you very much

Liz: Thank you!

Susanne, that's great .

IceAge! Thank you

Stream is back