Waiting for adults to return to nest

Submitted by Looduskalender EN on Sat, 28.05.2016 - 10:34
Autorid

Video recorded by  Mutikluti, LK forum

 

Body

After the ringing of the eagle chicks yesterday (Friday) the large and prudent adults have not come to the nest. Calls of the female as well as male can be heard near the nest.

There is no risk of the chicks starving, their bodies are already adapted for such events. Don’t worry – we are sure that the adults will appear at the nest because in earlier years too similar situations have occurred (and occur elsewhere in the world too as we have seen in camera view).

Please check the forum where each moment is recorded: LINK 
(Estonian article publ 27.05.2016; adults have returned since then)

 

 

Urmas's own comment:

Finally I'm also with you in web... did not look for ringing time video and posts, but maybe once later.
You know better as me about situation on nest and around it. Parents of White-tailed Eagles in general are very much distrustful about artificial things around - either in nest sites, feeding places or resting places. You may remember how eagles look for camera installed on nest. And not all of them tolerated it, fortunately Uku and Anna tolerated and cooperated with us. Different individuals are different also in toleration of human visit to the nest, so we are looking together with you for return of parents and hope to see them feeding chicks. 
Ringing of White-tailed Eagles has been common activity since 1976 and we can't see any decline of numbers this species, rather vice versa - WtE numbers have been increased tens of times. So in general, ringing could not be a problem for the species. But in past there were very few possibilities to see when adults return to the nest after nest visit by human. Now we can realize that and think most of ringers did not expect so long absence of parents.

By your last posts can see that adults are near the nest, protecting chicks against intruders (incl. immature WtEs). Though chicks are big enough, there are very few potential enemies for them in nature.
By the measurements the chicks are really well fed, will write later more precisely about. Youngest one was heaviest (girl?)!

Most of aspects are already written by you, so no sense to repeat those. Think today the parent(s) will have enough courage to land on nest. That is not easy for them according the evolutionary adaptation of this species. Only very careful individuals survived and shared their genes into the next generations. Maybe it turns in future, but takes time.

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