What the F Happened?

Honor and Glory are the names of the two baby eagles!

Honor and Glory are the names of the two baby eagles hatched by the pair of mated Bald Eagles that nest each year in the Arboretum located in Washington DC. Some 30,000-people voted and now little eaglets DC4 & DC5 have new names. Going forward DC4 will be called and known as Honor and DC5 will be called and known as Glory. Thank you to everyone who voted.

Oh, and for those of you that are following my blogs about my favorite Pet Eagles and remember when DC4 (Honor) got its foot caught in the loose twigs in the V-Shaped area of the nest and when Matthew Morrison of The Ex-cel Tree Experts  climbed the nest tree in the middle of an electrical thunderstorm to rescue it; well another announcement has been made.

During the rescue when little DC4 (Honor) was taken to the Maryland Zoo to be treated by Samantha Sander, the Veterinarian.

During all of the tests that were performed and treatments received, blood was drawn to for a gender test. The test results revealed that DC4 whose name is now Honor is a female eagle.

According to eagle facts; female eagles are larger than males. If that is the case, then DC5 whose name is now Glory ‘could’ be a male.

The eagle experts that know much more than I will ever claim to know about eagles, the only way to determine the gender of an eagle from hatch to young adult is by a blood test. (However, in four years when their heads turned white, I suppose you could be in the right place in the sky and happen to catch one eagle on top of another eagle having sex for less than 30 seconds and if you really have a good eye, you could remember which eagle was in which position during the sex act, then of course you can make the determination of gender. But then you would have to wait four years. [laughing])

I do not won’t to make enemies of the experts. It is a fact that DC5 (Glory) is a much smaller than DC4 Honor. If the facts line up then DC5 would be a male. I would really hate to call DC5 Glory and find out later that it is a male.

I voted to name DC4 and DC5 Anacostia & Potomac respectfully for two reasons: 1.) because I believe DC4 was a female long before any blood work was done and the name Anacostia is a feminine name. I believe DC5 is a male and the name Potomac is more masculine name. And just like normal elections, I voted based on what I believe; besides, 2.) The rivers that provides the fresh fish caught by Mr. P and TFL are named The Anacostia & The Potomac Rivers.

Funny, unless DC5 has blood work done, I guess we’ll never know if DC5 is a male. Never mind the two looked so very different when they hatched. Could the difference in the way they look when hatched tell us whether its female or male?

Oh well, Glory it is. No big deal, it’s not like these eagles know that we watch them 24-hours a day and they certainly will never know that they have names, which they will never answer to when called. And in July, these two baby eagles will be juvenile eagles that will fledge, leave the nest, and migrate to only God knows where and we never see them again.

Come on! It’s all in fun and is supposed to be educational. Nothing personal, right?

After all, it’s we humans who donate money to keep the DCEAGLECAM PROJECT up and running. It is our tax dollars that protect this species, provide grant dollars, and that pays the salaries of leader’s whose organizations that manage teams of people that work or volunteer shifts to educate us, monitor and track the activities of this family of Bald Eagles, and that make social media interactions fun.

Humans like me, that are not connected to those government teams or volunteers but that love this family enough to buy tee shirts, mugs, and donate extra money to help keep the DCEAGLECAM PROJECT. Humans like me that take it up on myself to learn all I can about our favorite birds of prey to enjoy writing blogs and/or lead Facebook Groups. We also dedicate lots of time, money, and resources for the purpose of sharing information that helps engage and educate others about these wonderful birds. We do not violate any rules or laws. We just have opinions. To scold us because we have an opinion or make a comment you don’t agree with is not smart. We have followers. I’m just saying.

Introducing DC5’s or should I say Glory’s big sister; Honor; and Honor is a Girl! And whether you like it or not, I believe DC5 is a male. However, the voters voted for the name Glory. Regardless to gender, DC5’s name is Glory.

Today the baby eagles are 40 and 41 days old. They are still wobbly when they stand. Mom is teaching them to hop and flap their wings. They are able to eat large chunks of food. They each challenge each other more for food. Although Glory (DC5) is much smaller than Honor (DC4), Glory became the aggressor of the two and today will poke Honor into submission during feeding.

NOTE: When an eagle goes into submission, it tucks its head down and stays that way until it is safe. Watch when Dad is around, both babies will show respect by going into submission. As soon as food arrives, Glory (DC5 – The smaller of the two), will immediately start poking Honor (DC4 – The larger of the two).

Both mom and dad will allow the two to poke each other to teach them aggression. If it gets too serious, a parent will stop the fighting. I have not seen these two fight to the point where intervention is required.

Since they hatched on March 29th and 30th, the baby eagles have really grown. Their fur or fuzz is being replaced by feathers. And like a human baby going through teething, the feather spur pushing through irritates them. Between bugs and growing feathers, the baby eagles stay busy scratching themselves.

The nest is not large enough for the baby eagles to eat, sleep, play, and do growing things like hop and flap their wings and have a parent in the nest all the time like they did when they were eggs and required 24-hour incubation. Rest assure that a parent is perched in a branch directly over the nest watching and protecting. Only during inclement weather will a parent stay in the nest to protect the babies until their legs and wings are sturdy enough to withstand strong winds and heavy rains. Currently when it rains mom will stay I the nest to cover the babies until the bad weather passes. The babies will tuck their heads under her breast and stay there until it is safe.

Most of the time these baby eagles stay close to each other. They eat, sleep and poop. It seems like these babies grows larger the longer they sleep. As soon as they eat, they go to sleep in a cuddle.

HOW TO TELL THEM APART?

Honor (formerly known as DC4; hatched first on March 29, 2017)

Honor is the larger of the two babies.  Honor is lighter in color than Glory. Honor is the whistler or chirper. Due to the accident that required Honor to be rescued, Honor’s right foot is still larger than her left foot. And on a few occasions, I’ve seen her walk with a limp. In my opinion, Honor may have a permanent disability. We’ll know this by the time she starts trying to fledge and safely land. Honor’s feather line comes all the way down to its eyebrows. Honor loves to stand in the V-Shaped tree. It appears to be her favorite spot.

Glory (formerly known as DC5; hatched one day after its sibling Honor on March 30, 2017).

Glory is the smaller of the two but is stronger. Glory appears to sleep more. Glory is darker in color than the Honor; but that could change in a few weeks. Glory’s feather line is receded back behind its eyes.

The poop stance

When the babies poop. They stand up, put their head down and points their tail in the air and excretes a white-milky-substance from their behinds. The branches and twigs are spattered with poop all around the nest. When food arrives, they poop first. They poop after they eat. When they awake from a nap, they poop. They eat, sleep, and poop.

Mom Eagle (also known as The First Lady or TFL)

Mom is larger than dad. She had a dark spot on top of her head; I call it a beauty mole.  She has two dark spots in the back of her head. TFL’s head is thinner and her face is sleeker than Dad’s. The white feathers are tapered and neatly trimmed around her neck. Her wing span is larger than dad’s. She cleans the nest and is fussy about keeping the V-Shaped area of the nest filled with twigs and grass to prevent future accidents. Mom has two favorite spots on a branch over the nest that she perches in day and night. She and Dad does shift duties in watching, hunting, and feeding.

Daddy Eagle (also known as Mr. President or Mr. P)

Dad is smaller than mom. Dad’s face is broader with more of a fierce look. The white feathers are jaggered around his neck in to a collar shape directly under his beak. In between the collar under his beak is a diamond shaped white feather patch that gives the appearance that dad is wearing a tie; thus the name Mr. President. Dad and mom sometimes conflict with each other on how the nest will be groomed. Dad is the heavy lifter. You will see him moving large twigs around in the nest. If he puts something in place and mom moves it, the baby eagles might witness a little spat between their parents.

Both parents are skillful hunters. However, because mom stays with the babies at night, dad hunts early and brings a fresh fish around 6amEST. Mom gets a break while dad feeds his babies. If mom stays and feeds the babies because she too is hungry, then when the feeding is done and the babies are ready for a nap, Mom may fly away to poop or dispel a pellet and stretch her wings. Ditto for dad when he flies away shortly after feeding the babies.

Like clock-work, Mom and dad will change shifts to incubate, hunt, feed, protect, and provide safety for their babies and give each other a break.

Mom and dad will feed these babies until they can feed themselves inside the nest. Soon, the parents will start dropping off food to let the babies play and fight over the food. They will fight until they rip the food apart and each gets a piece. Their parents will drop off two fishes one for each to enjoy. These parents are wonderfully skilled at not only hunting, but parenting. They know how much to feed. They know not to allow the babies to eat too much. They know when the nest needs repairs or built up around the edges. They will know when it is time to start letting them go knowing they will never see them again.

Dad takes off and sores through the trees just like you and I drives through our communities. He flies with speed and grace. Mom too sores with ease but she generally flies upward and over the nest.

These baby eagles will become juveniles in when they are 60-days old.

When they fledge (permanently leave the nest and migrate, they will become young adults at around 90 days old). They will remain young adults until their heads are covered with white feathers. Over a period of 4 to 5 years, these babies will migrate all over the country until they meet their mate, consummate their relationship, find and build a nest, and settle down for the rest of their lives, which could be 25-years…unless something terrible happens.

After these babies fledge the nest, their parents will show up with food checking to make sure they are not going to return hungry. Mom and dad will meet and eat the food that their juvies did not return to eat. The parents will stop returning to the nest and they themselves will migrate and travel. In other words, they are empty-nesters on vacation. They will make love with each other often.

If everything goes the way it did last year when their previous set of babies hatched in this nest and fledged July, 2016, the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) will announce the date that they will turn off the DCEAGLECAM for the Fall. No need in watching an empty nest.

During the empty nest season, the AEF will perform and repairs needed for the DCEAGLECAM and/or upgrade the system to make our watching and learning experience more enjoyable. Each year the technology, training, and videography gets better.

I want you to make a donation to help the AEF with their efforts to protect these magnificent birds. Support the DC Eagle CAM by purchasing TeeShirt

If you haven’t already enrolled with the CHAT Group sponsored by the AEF six days a week, I recommend that you do so immediately. The people that lead the CHATS are the eagle experts. They are there to educate you by answering hundreds of questions. You will receive newsletters and DCEAGLECAM updates. You will be notified when the CAM will be turned on and off for the season. Our support and donations are used wisely. We will enjoy the benefits of the off-season upgrades when mom and dad returns to the nest each mating season.

Last year, I fell in love with this pair of Mated Bald Eagles. They became My Pet Eagles – A Virtual Experience! I purchased a tee-shirt and watched Freedom and Liberty grow from the time they hatched in March/2016 until they fledged and permanently left the nest in July/2016.

This year, I invested my time, money, and resources to share the wonderful experiences with people like you so that you can do the same.

Sometime around mid-January every year, mom and dad will show back up at this nest and when the CAM is turned back on, we can watch mom and dad mate, perform nest repairs, eat together, and start the next parenting season.

We will know when mom is pregnant when she starts sleeping in the nest and making nest pouches to lay eggs, which will be mid-to-late March each year. Each mating season the process will start over until these parents die. It is truly a love story of monogamy and bliss. We humans could learn a lot from these awesome birds.

This is but a small list of what “I” believe we could learn from these birds:

1. Wait until you are of age to take care of a family before seriously dating.
2. Work together to locate and invest in property that will be your permanent nesting place.
3. Get married. Make a commitment. Start having as much sex as you want.
4. Practice monogamy for life.
5. Communicate often.
6. Protect the nest from outside predators.
7. Have children (procreate) and teach them to live high moral lives.
8. Show affection around your children and never argue around them.
9. Share in house duties with dad (the male) being the family’s leader and main provider. If mom (the female) shares in the work, then she must hunt and help feed the family.
10. A family that eats together; stays together.
11. Bedtime is at dust each day. No eating after bedtime.
12. No taking off from work or family duties unless the nest is well stocked with food and the other parent agrees to take care of the babies until the other parent returns.
13. The family will eat as many times needed to maintain the health of the newly hatched, young wobbly babies, juvies, or fledge ready young adults. No excuses. No assistance from other hardworking eagles that have families of their own. Rain, snow, good weather, parents will get up every day and hunt, feed, clean, take care of children, and love on each other; date night is important.
14. Make a certain call when in distress.
15. Enjoy vacation time. Parents will migrate because absence makes the heart grow fonder.

EVENTS LOG ON EAGLE ACTIVITIES

If you want to know how much time and detail the good people at The American Eagle Foundation spends on documenting the activities inside ‘this’ Eagle’s Nest, CLICK HERE. You can review a 24-hour tracking log. It is absolutely amazing the energy put forth by this team I hope next year, they will start tagging these birds with GPS CHIPS. It will be wonderful to follow our birds. NOTE: Birds are not protected by the U.S. Constitution. This is an excellent resource for documenting in detail the major nest activities of each day. A subscription service would pay for a quality GPS system so that we humans can keep track of our favorite birds.

Pictures

TFL brought in a bunch of leaves to cover the V-Shaped area. The red material was entangled with the grass and that is how it got transported in the nest. The seriousness of this education is to show us why it is important to put trash in its proper place. The babies could think that it is a blood vessel from a fish and try to eat it, which they are used to seeing with their food. I do not know what happened to the red foreign object, but it disappeared.

 

Learn More About Eagles

CLICK HERE to visit and study this site to learn additional information about eagles.

Videos

1. Dad flies from perched area with grace.
2. We have been named YouTube’s ‘bellmoonnature’
3. The Popular Trees are in full bloom. Can you imagine the view Mr. P saw, when he saw TFL perched here for the first time? It was love at first sight. YouTube’s ‘birdbrain56’
4. Mom teaching her babies   YouTube ‘birdbrain56’
5. Learning how to spread wings  YouTube ‘birdbrain56’
6. The US Fish and Wildlife agency has information about the numbers of bald eagles. USFWS Eagle Population after they fledge they will remain in the area for 4-12 weeks perfecting flying and learning to hunt for food.
7. Funny: A bird is learning about the bees
8. This was so funny. When Mom fed the babies earlier, she left that piece of fish in the nest. Honor and Glory was playing around with the fish. They pecked at the meat. Being full, they laid down and went to sleep. When Mom returned, she could not find the fish. That’s when she looked under the sleeping baby and found the fish. Too funny!
9. After a night of high winds and rain, the baby’s feeding schedule is a bit late because the two rivers (Anacostia and Potomac) that is the resource of the fresh large fish have rough currents, murky waters, and overflowing banks. I believe it has taken Mr. P so long to hunt for food because he probably had to travel farther to find food. Judging the condition of the carcass of the catfish, it was not fresh. In fact, Mr. P feeds both babies and takes the rest with him. YouTube’s ‘birdbrain56 ’
10. Feeding May 7^th at 6pm. This the second fish within two hours.  YouTube’s ‘birdbrain56’

 

Thank you

….for following my Blogs as I give life to a pair of mated Bald Eagles (Mr. President and The First Lady) by creating a story-line about them living in the most idyllic of nest sites within Washington, DC, high in a Tulip Poplar tree amongst the Azalea Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum. Sponsored and managed by the American Eagle Foundation & USDA who along with several partners that provide the 24-Hour CAM that is installed over the nest, which, provides all the material and support resources needed to make this family of eagles famous!

Blog: My Pet Eagles – A Virtual Experience

Blog: Baby Eagles Welcomed By Their Parents – My Pet Eagles

Blog: Eagles Rescued in DC is a Story of Heroism and Love

Blog:  Vote Baby Names for DC Baby Eagles

Blog: Honor and Glory are the names of the two baby eagles!

Personal Notation

I would like to make a note of the voting. I live in a very popular Election District. We consider a vote tally of 30,000 a good season, to elect School Board and County Council officials. An Election Season that covers a 4-6month hotly contested and often controversial highly publicized and made very popular though mass mailings and polling.  During a Primary Election, an Early Election, and a General Election over a 6-months voting season that include mass media attention, expensive mass mailings, word of mouth, social media, support by incumbent political leaders, and information from the state and county board of elections, we are lucky to get 12,000 votes for a candidate. These baby birds received 30,000 votes over four sets of names (same as candidates) over a period of four days; April 24^th – April 28^th. We only used word of mouth, the Internet, and Social Media. Wow!

HELP SUPPORT THE CAM OPERATIONS OF THE DC ARBORETUM EAGLE’S NEST!

Support the DC Eagle CAM by purchasing TeeShirt

Please consider supporting the DC Eagle CAM by purchasing this TeeShirt. CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

All pictures and videos are Copyrighted Material of The American Eagle Foundation

Thanks to @dceaglecam, @eaglesdotorg, all of the many sponsors and government agencies, and to all of the volunteers who spend countless hours monitoring the CAM 24-hours a day, conducting the education chat sessions, and for they do to make our experience with these mated Bald Eagles and their precious baby eagles memorable and enjoyable.