Bald Eagle Nest Camera Spring 2008

Bald Eagle Nest Camera
2008

An incredible, 4-egg clutch was laid in early February, 2008!
This photo was taken by a camera we mounted at the nest prior to egg laying. We had hoped
to bring you close-up video from this camera this year, but it was struck by lightning and no longer functions.
Now that the birds are nesting, we cannot climb to the nest for repairs until after the young have fledged.
Scroll down this page to see live video from a camera placed farther away from the nest.

The Sutton Avian Research Center is dedicated to finding cooperative conservation solutions
for birds and the natural world through science and education,
and is a part of the Oklahoma Biological Survey at the University of Oklahoma.

Our Bald Eagle nest cam provides an intimate view of a wild Oklahoma Bald Eagle nest. Children and adults from
Oklahoma and around the world can observe life in an eagle nest, and scientists can make observations that will
help us better understand the life history of our national symbol.

This nest is on OG&E property at Sooner Lake near Stillwater, Oklahoma. The original dead nest tree used by this pair of eagles fell down. OG&E,
with technical assistance from the Sutton Center, erected an artificial tower which these eagles have adopted successfully.
For additional information about nesting Bald Eagles, scroll down this page.

16 April 2008: A visit to the nest site confirms the presence of at least 2 young.

This camera would not have been possible without the support of: Atlas Computers, F&M Bank of Tulsa, Inasmuch Foundation,
NatureWorks, OG&E, OneNet, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation

To view the video, we recommend that you have the latest version of your browser (Internet Explorer 7, or Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.12), and Java.
If prompted for permission to install an applet by publisher "Andy", click "Yes."

***The video image may at times be unavailable due to technical problems or heavy user demand.***
We monitor the camera daily and do try to keep it working.

Bald Eagle Nesting Information

Sexual maturity and breeding generally coincide with attaining adult plumage (head and tail becoming all white, beak yellow, and the eyes white), from 3 to 5 years of age.

Nest site selection and building can begin as early as late September in Oklahoma. Several nests may be constructed by a single pair in the same territory.

Nests are typically located in one of the taller trees in an area, just below the crown, about 3/4 the way up the tree, against the trunk or in a sturdy fork of the tree. Assorted interwoven sticks up to 1 inch or more in diameter make up the bulk of the nest. The nest is lined with soft grass, moss, or other fine materials. Nests can take months to complete, are added to each year, and in exceptional cases can end up weighing several tons.

One clutch of 1-3 eggs is laid per year. However, a replacement clutch may be laid in the event of a loss during laying or early incubation. Incubation begins sometime from December or January in Oklahoma and lasts for 33.5 days, while the hatching process can take up to 2 days. If more than one egg is present, the others hatch at intervals of 2-3 days. This results in eaglets of different sizes with the first hatched eaglet being the largest, a difference that is maintained until growth is completed before fledging. After fledging eagles may gain weight, but they do not grow very much larger dimensionally. Female Bald Eagles, as with many birds of prey, average larger in size than males; however, there can be an overlap between the sizes of the sexes. Size is almost the only visible difference between them. Eagles nesting in the northern part of their range also average larger in size than those from the southern parts of their range.

About a third, on average, of Oklahoma Bald Eagle nests fail, either during incubation or brooding, for mostly unknown reasons. Causes of nest failure could be due to food shortage, inclement weather, human disturbance, predators, and environmental contaminants.

Development of Bald Eagle Young

Week One: At hatching, the young are covered with a light gray down and have limited mobility. Their eyes, dark brown in color, are closed, but open after a few hours. The female parent does the majority of the brooding while the male parent provides most of the food for the family. Aggressive antagonistic behavior can appear shortly after hatching wherein the oldest, largest eaglet tries to dominate or even kill its sibling(s).

Week Two: The second down plumage, darker in color, begins to replace the first. At the end of this period thermoregulation is attained; that is, the eaglet can maintain its own body temperature under normal weather conditions without brooding from an adult.

Week Three: Black contour feathers on back, shoulder, breast and wings begin to emerge.

Week Four: Maximum body growth nearing completion; flight feather development underway.

Week Five: Male and female parents bring relatively equal amounts of food. Parents begin spending more time away from the young and often perch in nearby trees.

Week Six: Young are able to tear pieces of food off and feed themselves, and begin to stand and walk.

Weeks Eight - Twelve: Nestlings begin "branching". They flap their wings while perched on the nest and hop onto nearby branches, practicing and building up flight muscles, coordination, and landing skills. Most of Oklahoma's Bald Eagles fledge between 11 and 12 weeks after hatching. After the first flight the eaglets may return to the nest a few times to spend the night (roosting) or to get food brought there by the adults.

Some nestlings fall to the ground and remain there before gaining flight ability. Parents usually continue to feed the young on the ground; but in this location, the chicks are highly vulnerable to predation.

After fledging the young are still dependent on the adults to feed them for a period of up to a couple of months until they gain the experience and skills to find and catch their own food. Radio-telemetry studies of a few Bald Eagles reared in Oklahoma show that they migrate north during the hottest months of the summer to cooler climates such as the Great Lakes area or Canada.

The initial flagship project of the Sutton Center was the reestablishment of breeding Bald Eagles in the southeastern U.S. How did we do it? To find out about these intensive and very successful restoration efforts, click the page link below.

Sutton Center Bald Eagle Restoration Efforts

Learn more about Sutton Center education programs!

Eagle Cam hits since 20 March 2007:

www.website-hit-counters.com

Copyright 2008 George M. Sutton Avian Research Center

Unique suttoncenter.org visits since 8 October 2004