As the Eagle grows

As the Eagle grows from Jane Patterson on Vimeo.

Paid another visit to the Ramah-Maringuoin Bald Eagle nest today. A fitting end to Eagle Expo weekend, even though that was held down near the coast in Morgan City (LOTS of eagles down that way!!). Michael Seymour with LDWF and his wife Kim and son Gavin arrived not long after I got there to see the nest and take some pictures and video as well.



This video features a few minutes of the chick being fed by Dad. You can see how much he's grown in the 3 weeks since the last video I posted. He's nearly as large as the adult now. He'll probably be larger than his parents them by the time he fledges, since they're working hard and all he does is eat, sleep, and poop.
Speaking of which, at about 3 minutes into the video you'll be treated to a shot of that. Then Mom arrives and Dad leaves after a minute or two. The nest is buzzed by an Osprey, which doesn't seem to bother her too much.

As Michael and I watched, a 4-wheeler approached the nest tree. It seemed to deliberately head for the tree, and when it got too close, Mama Eagle bolted. Another 4-wheeler followed the first, along with 3 or 4 tagalong dogs - 4 guys altogether. They parked under the nest tree for several minutes, which kept Mom from returning to the tree. It was not clear what their intention was, but it was clear they were bothering the eagle and keeping her from returning to the nest. Because there are laws bothering eagles (Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act) Michael called LDWF enforcement, but the guys left the tree area before enforcement arrived. I also left before enforcement got there, but as you can see in the comments Michael left, they did talk to the guys and let them know what the rules are. I'm not sure how the landowners feel about the eagles nesting there, and they may not appreciate the attention directed toward their property, but the eagles are just trying to make a living and hopefully they'll respect that.