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The eagles have landed ...

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Bart_van_der_Wolf

pro member
Last year a single couple of 'white-tailed sea eagles' (Haliaeetus albicillus) built a nest in the Netherlands and managed to increase their offspring by one. This was the first nesting couple in my country since the middle ages! The sea eagle, AKA 'the flying door', is Europe's largest bird of prey with a wingspan of some 2.5 metres, and it is very easily scared away, so it's a bit of a miracle that they managed it in this relatively densely populated country.

Here's some 'footage' of last year's event, leading up to the juvenile abandoning the nest:
http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/actueel/nieuws/details.asp?NWS_ID=870 (Click "filmpje" at the bottom of the page).

This year the same eagle couple has returned and they have just started remodelling and adding to last year's already huge (2000 kg) nest. The nature reserve area around the nesting site is off-limits for the general public, but a solar-panel powered wireless webcam in a waterproof housing has been set up, thus allowing to follow the event. It's a 3CCD day (color) and night (IR) camera mounted on a pole at 12 metres height, and it can be controlled (pan/tilt/focus/zoom) from the base observation station 7 kilometres away.

And here is the current live webcam feed:
http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/actueel/zeearend/media/zeearend.asx, or try this link. If there is insufficient solar power to charge the batteries or feed the camera, due to extended periods of heavy cloud cover, a test image will be broadcast, but one can access archived streams.

The male and female take between 35-42 days to brood on 2 eggs before hatching, and the young stay in the nest for 8 weeks. It's a nice opportunity to observe, from the comfort of your home.

Bart

P.S. Latest news: The website is being updated, and this capture was just posted there:
http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/actueel/zeearend/archief/default.asp?vid=1
Things can load slowly (or fail) because I noticed this event just hit national news on TV.
 
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Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Great info Bart, thanks a lot :). I have heard about the eagles last year, but did not know that they've returned this year.

PS: At the beginning of your post, I had the slight impression that you were going to post some personal photos of these magnificent birds and was rather jelaous that you've had the very rare opportunity of taking pictures of them (LOL). Talk about jumping into conclusions too soon...
 
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

pro member
Cem Usakligil said:
PS: At the beginning of your post, I had the slight impression that you were going to post some personal photos of these magnificent birds ...
Click to expand...

Only in my dreams.

My DSLR gear is 'limited' to 200mm at the long end. I'm lusting for something in the 600mm direction, but even that (despite the prohibitive, for the amount of work I could do with it, cost) might prove too limited for these birds (the nesting area is off-limits). Perhaps I'll cough-up the deposit for a rental some day, or win the lottery, we'll see which happens first.

Bart
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Bart_van_der_Wolf said:
... Perhaps I'll cough-up the deposit for a rental one some day, or win the lottery, we'll see which happens first.
Click to expand...
This is an idea I've been pondering upon for a while. What about a photo shoot day among us the Dutch OPFers? We can rent a few lenses and split the costs in between? :)

Cheers,
 
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

pro member
Charles L Webster said:
I get an error message in Dutch when I click on "filmpje"
Click to expand...

It seems the link is broken, I don't get it either anymore and can't find the old capture on their website, sorry.

There seems to be an egg in the nest, since one of the eagles is sitting on it all the time. Click on Webcambeelden
At the time of this writing night has set in, so only IR images are captured, and there is a bit of stormy weather, so the bird is laying low. And right now the connection is lost, the batteries apparently get depleted rather fast.

Bart
 
B

Bart_van_der_Wolf

pro member
Eagle update

Bart_van_der_Wolf said:
One young eagle can be seen
Click to expand...

Well, it's any moment now. The young eagle (they say it's a female) is practicing her flying skills on her nest. It is no longer fed by its parents other than that they bring the prey, which the young bird then defends, after which the parents leave. The young (already full grown, 2.5 metre wingspan) is expected to leave the nest this week (click the link at the bottom of the page for the webcam images).

Bart
 
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