Shepherdstown (NCTC),

[AliceWitt]

Belle has not been sitting on the egg much. I am not sure if this is because of the temperatures, or if Belle really doesn't have the instincts to be a Mom. I wish dad would return.

[AliceWitt]

Something disturbed the dad about 8:30 this AM. He left. There has been no one on the nest since. There sits the lonely egg.

[patis]

strange looking nest within a nest.. I thought it was still cold in Shepherdstown at this time of year.

[Beezlebub]

About time for another egg, maybe mom will sit longer with 2 eggs.

[golden1]

Second egg at 10:49 Febl 8th

[Beezlebub]

2 eggs and dad sitting on eggs for the last couple of hours.

[AliceWitt]

strange looking nest within a nest..

Actually that is a perfect example of a "nest bowl". The nest bowl is built in the main nest by first scratching down and then filling in with softer finer materials. Add to that the "nest cup" which is inside the bowl and made with even finer materials, it is a real structure, not just a depression. The Davenport Eagle nest has an even deeper and more distinct nest bowl, it practically fills the entire nest.

With falcons it is not unusual for the parents to be off the new first egg for a while. But this is not common in eagles. As long as the egg is down deep (and the deeper the better) the insulation provided by the nest bowl and nest cup, will protect the egg for a while.

Great that this dad is doing his part. I hope Mom will do hers. Since last year the one eaglet was lost to an intruder, I am really looking forward to success here this year.

[patis]

thank you Alice for that info.. I had never seen one,or if I did it was used to flatness..or something..anyway, now I know.. yay!!

[ruesgram]

I was worried about this nest. Things just didn't seem right. I started reading their forum and they all seemed to think everything was fine, excited about the second egg. They had a discussion about humanizing the eagles, similar to a few discussions on our Decorah forums. I think they should agree to disagree. I hope all goes well for this nest this year after last years sad ending. The nest is in a very pretty part of my home state. If you scroll down on page 562 of their forum there is a nice pic of the nest tree and barn. The mountains and eastern part of the state may get a foot of snow this weekend. Hope it stays away from the nest.

[AliceWitt]

I agree Rues, to an extent. Eagles have a normal body temperature of 105 degrees. The brood patch allows more blood vessels to be near the surface to heat the eggs to 105 degrees.
The brood patch and egg warming
http://eaglecam.tumblr.com/post/3722497443/keeping-them-warm

The eggs need to be rolled about once an hour in order that the embryo does not stick to the sides of the egg. It is not unusual for an eagle to not be incubating constantly for the first 24 hours or so. By not doing that there is a chance, and I repeat, a chance, that the embryo will not develop properly. But usually by the second egg the parents are more attentive and will incubate practically 24 hours of day. They may take brief breaks, especially in warmer climates because the sun and the environment will allow for some heating and/or slower cooling. However, in very hot climates the parent may leaf the incubating, but will stand in such a position as to shade the egg from too hot a sun.

Falcons will sometimes delay incubating in order that all the eggs hatch at about the same time. Both Eagles and falcons are asynchronous hatchers (they hatch one at a time). But unlike the falcon, the eagle does not do this. 

Unless these parents start taking on the incubation and rolling, I fear that the eggs will not be viable.

Here' hoping for a good outcome in 2012; 2011 was a sad disaster.

[ruesgram]

Thank you Alice for all your valuable information.

[AliceWitt]

It's cold, windy, and feels like 23 degrees where our eagles are. Brrrrrr!

But our eagle eggs are being incubated. Being rolled. And being nestled down deeper in the egg bowl.

Hurray!

http://outdoorchannel.com/Conservation/EagleCam.aspx

[ruesgram]

Yeah, Alice. I've watched the nest today and I'm feeling much better about it. It sure is windy.

[ruesgram]

It is so easy to tell which one is dad (or Shep or Ben, depending on which site you read) with that dot on his head! They are eating well today and tending to their nest and eggs.

[AliceWitt]

I watched them off and on most of the day. Each time it was Dad on the nest he certainly was doing a good job of incubating those eggs. I was happy to see it. the weather conditions still looked rather rotten, but I guess that is somewhat normal for this time of year. Each of the screen caps looked so much like the others that I figured best to wait for a sunny clear day.

Shepherdstown
Uploaded by briggd1 on Feb 10, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yifKnEe9dC8