Nest Building 101 & More

Today I decided it was time for me to take the day off after the great work that Harriet and Dad did in the past couple of days on getting somewhat of a foundation started. I have over 5,000 photo's ( yes that's right over 5,000 because I shoot every move they make..lol) that still need to be gone through and I also felt a blog coming on...LOL  Imagine that !!

Sunday ,In my eyes was the first real good start on nest building. Both Harriet and Dad were one for one on branch bring. The long ones, the short ones, the pine branches too. Harriet really wanted some pine in the mix. I can't help but wonder if having the pine in the mix of it would help the the other branches somehow stay put. I guess time will tell. There were also a lot of what some of us call "puzzle " branches too. These are ones that have smaller branches the extend off the main branch. Such as in the  photo below.  

                       
Once these are placed or try to be placed they help in keeping others that are brought into this area stay in place. But the getting these placed is the hard part especially when one or the other is in the way of this placement as we soon witnessed. Very comical at times watching them. There are also the curved branches that are very helpful in getting the branches to stay. Such as the one below that Harriet brought in 9/4/16..... and another one that stayed for a bit after placement.

 

Then of course there are the very long and somewhat straight branches that would bridge the gap when placed just right along with the rest that might have stayed. These were the trickiest ones to get placed. Given the length of them and the not so roomy area plus the fact that your mate didn't want to move, most of them ended up over board and some down below from the area they were working on.

        

















 So where are they trying to place all of this you ask?  With permission from Jeffrey Jansen  here are some scaps= screen captures , of the nest or what's left of it before the cameras were turned off and the rest of the nest came down. The first one with the black circle and the third one , is where they are trying to get the branches to stay. This is when I wish the cams were up and running just so we could see what has stayed so far and where . A bit hard to really know for sure from the ground but from what I can see from earlier  photo's of this area, some have definitely stayed....

 










So as you can see it's not a crotch area that they are trying to bridge , it's a bit more than that . The one branch that you see going across part of the veranda branch,we think part of it might have broken off now so there is that gap that they are also dealing with. But to Eagles this is nothing. For us it's a big thing. Some would like to see a platform put up for them for the simple reason it would be easier for them. Ok but that's not how their lives go in the wild.The nest that some follow which have put up platforms are research nest and have special permission to do this from USFW to continue their research. Harriet and Dad can do this and they are doing this. This is a great education for all of us to witness. Of course some have to see through photos and videos but you do get to see. I'll betcha even the "Experts" are paying attention. Well I would like to think they are because I can't find anything showing from the very first branch to the end where they start using the nest. A nest is never finished. It's always worked on and added to. And if anyone has something please share with all of us.  Even now as I sit here writing this they are busy working away and getting more a foundation in. I know this because I peeked in on facebook and Jeff gave an update....LOL

So now on to the More part of this. As we all know Eagles are constantly reaffirming their bond to each other in one form or another. I understand we are very fortunate to see our couple on a regular basis during the summer where others do not get to see theirs and the bonding that continues even after the Fledglings are gone. This new nest building happens to be one of the bonding things they do and a very important one.This shows the commitment they have to to each other and to reproduce.    Working on a new nest or adding new rails and fluff to an existing one is a form of bonding. The territorial actions/ displays when other couples or single Eagles come around is another form of their bonding/commitment to each other.  Perching close to each other , preening together, vocalizing and even taking bathes together are all forms of bonding that goes on through the whole life time of their partnership. Even during the summer months they are bonding in one way or another.
But this time of the year when it gets closer to nesting season , there seems to be more of a how can I say it ... a tenderness, a more of a closeness more of a show to others that they are a pair . Soon we will be seeing them "mating" .Not that it will produce eggs yet but it's another form of  reaffirming their commitment to each other as mates.  And oh yes the famous side kick from Harriet will come into play. This is something that most female Eagles do to let their partner know they are ready for some hanky panky ...LOL
This time hopefully Dad is better at it than he was last season. One could definitely tell he was just turning 5 years old. The poor guy didn't have a clue but when the light bulb finally went on, he was all over that  and I do mean all over. Then the timing was right and the eggs were laid.
So have faith my friends as I have always had that they will get this done. It may not be as soon as we want it , it may not be in time for eggs or it might be . Remember we are on the outside looking in . They know what they are doing and however much of a nest is there when it comes time to lay the eggs.... it's good enough for them  but not us as we seem to think they'll need more...LOL