Jan 27 2016, 10:04 AM

Essec09: Nancy Van Horn - if I could share some information with you regarding that. It is a bit long so will be in a couple of posts. Tomp,could you please pause a few seconds.

Jan 27 2016, 10:04 AM

Essec09: The fluid isn’t saliva but water that has been reclaimed from the respiratory system. A bird’s sinus acts as a cooling plate for inhaled and exhaled air. Inhaled cool air is warmed in the lungs. Warm air is able to absorb more water.When it is exhaled, it meets the cooler tissues in the sinus cavities and are absorbed back into the body through swallowing. There is a structure in the mouth that is essentially a slit into the sinuses called a choana.

Jan 27 2016, 10:04 AM

Essec09: The transfer of maternal antibodies to chicks occurs through the yolk to the embryo.The chicks immune system is immature at the time of hatching and the maternal antibodies help protect the chick until its naturally acquired immune system ramps up.

Jan 27 2016, 10:05 AM

Essec09: The fluid seen coming from an eagle’s beak is more likely unintentional sinus drip rather than a purposeful act to hydrate the young.While some hydration may occur from the sinus drips, it would be impossible to provide enough for the chicks metabolic needs.

Very interesting. So completely different than what was said a few yrs ago but glad it's a much better explanation of what we saw with E7.  

 Here is a link that saliva was mention also .

http://www.hancockwildlife.org/forum/viewtopic.php?topic=751362#751362

This also found in the HWF

 Lots of differing thoughts on the following subject... Justwhat is that fluid we see coming from the eagle parent beak?
1)The following information is from a wildlife veterinarian.

The fluid seen coming from an eagle’s beak is more likely unintentional sinus drip rather than a purposeful act to hydrate the young. While some hydration may occur from the sinus drips, it would be impossible to provide enough for the chicks metabolic needs. The fluid isn’t saliva but water that has been reclaimed from the respiratory system. A bird’s sinus acts as a cooling plate for inhaled and exhaled air. Inhaled cool air is warmed in the lungs. Warm air is able to absorb more water. When it is exhaled, it meets the cooler tissues in the sinus cavities and are absorbed back into the body through swallowing. There is a structure in the mouth that is essentially a slit into the sinuses called a choana. The transfer of maternal antibodies to chicks occurs through the yolk to the embryo. The chicks immune system is immature at the time of hatching and the maternal antibodies help protect the chick until its naturally acquired immune system ramps up.

2) From another longtime mod: “from my Sutton Research Center files, and I know I still have the statement also if I can hunt it down sometime from Craig Kopke, wildlife biologist who was watches the NETC nest. Hope this is of help. "Nasal glands in the anterior part of the eagle skull produce a saline solution that runs from the nares or nostrils of the feeding adult and down the beak to drip off its tip and onto the small bits of meat fed to the chicks. This keeps the sticky fish flesh moist and makes it easier for the chicks to swallow. There is speculation over whether such secretions include some type of disease resistant content or antibodies, as does colostrum in mammalian breast milk or has been shown for the saliva of swifts, but preliminary studies in falcons have concluded only saline is present. To see the saline dripping off the adult beak is difficult, even in person, but close observation might allow sharp-eyed, lucky, camera watchers to witness this phenomenon in some circumstances."
3) From Delaware Valley Raptor Center:

Raptors have a salt-excreting gland in their nares [nostrils], located in the nasal orbits, that can secrete sodium and chloride ions to help regulate these electrolytes in their blood and tissue fluids. Falcons sneeze out these nasal gland secretions, while other raptors allow the fluid to flow from the nares to the end of the beak where it is then flicked off with repeated head shakes. When feeding their young, a salty fluid also flows from a raptor’s nares to the tip of the beak where it falls on the chick’s pieces of food. It is not yet known if this fluid has any nutritional value for the young."

1/27/16....10:39 pm E 8 has arrived !

We have our second Eagle E8 made his appearance 1/27/16 at 10:39 pm.  Woohoo !!!
Even tho I slept right thru it many others were on hand to see E8. Thanks to all that made videos , screen captures for the rest of us sleepy heads.

Video by UrDogNu:::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DNvpDblfDE

Some of the other video's can be found here at this Link:::
https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestFloridaEagleCam/
Go to the left side , scroll down to Visitors Post ,click on the > and it will open up with all the screen captures and videos.

I did a quick video of the feeding this morning and have a few scaps also.
https://www.facebook.com/deeagle55/

Now this is where the fun begins. To watch how each parent does the feedings, how much Harriet let's M15 do the feedings. She is very controlling of all the feedings. She did the same thing with Ozzie.Well Ozzie was like" Ok a bite for you and two bites for me" LOL.. Harriet seemed to catch Ozzie all the time and would come flying in to take over.I'm sure we will see the same thing here with M15 . Shoot she didn't even let him sit very long this morning before taking over.
Ozzie did get a lot of sit time with the kids and I'm sure M15 will too.
This season will be very interesting to watch a New Dad and how instincts all come into play. All we've had the past seasons is a very well bonded pair . Now some learning  and understanding of things comes in for us . If you watch closely and with an open mind , you will see things that just makes you say" Ooohhh now I see or now I get it "
We,  or maybe just I took it for granted that this is how things were done and not really "seeing " how things were done.
How lovingly Harriet and M15 are with each other. How they both worked hard for this day. How well M15 has taken care for HIS mate and territory . How he loves his time on the nest with the eggs and now with the Eaglets. He will get more time but for right now with the weather we are having ,it's best for Harriet to be there . She is bigger and can cover more of the nest and the Eaglets to keep them dry.And after all she IS the Mom !
   Both have their roles to play out in this . Harriet is the one that will be on the nest the most and M15 is the protector /provider for them. Harriet too will bring in food but it's mostly the males "Job."
He will also be the one that takes the "trash out" sort-of speak . So don't think that he is stealing the food from the kids.I know  some have got so many believing M15 is nothing but a thief. This is what Eagles do . They missed the whole lesson E6 was to learn and that was to keep your food guarded.  Ozzie did it too. Harriet would fuss at him and even go to the tree Ozzie was in to get him to bring it back. Remember the pelt Ozzie was trying to get down and couldn't?? Harriet had to pull it out. Well Ozzie was trying to get it down before Harriet could stop him and it didn't work. Ozzie finally took off with it and dropped it on the ground by the nest. He still went down and ate on it before leaving it alone..  I'm sure we will see this happen again. It happens on many nests , everywhere.
The more Eagle cams you watch , the more you will see what goes on here happens at other nests too. One maybe  a little more of this or a little more of that but they are all basically the same. It's what the "mood" is on that nest. What I mean is how the nest and the activities are interpreted and explained . The mind set , the words one chooses to explain if you will. Their opinions and emotions.
Poor M15 has been labeled as a Thief  on this nest and it's not fair . Sure he took a fish or two but again the opportunity was there and E6 didn't starve either because of it. Harriet went and got one of the fish from M15. Remember this is what  they do. They ALL steal a meal from someone...

So with this New Beginnings of M15 and Harriet's , I hope you all will be watching and learning and will be amazed at the wonders of Mother Nature and how our Eagles have come back from the brink to carry on their species.
Oh and just as a side note, Nothing wrong with having emotions for these Magnificent, Majestic birds. Please just don't let it be your fuel for learning. Step aside and see without them. The things you will see and learn without them are  AMAZING  !!!!  

EXTRA, EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT.....M15 & HARRIET ANNOUNCE THE HATCH of E 7

I get this morning to get ready to go to the nest.I haven't been there in 10 days or so and today was going to be a good day weather wise. Harriet and have been on eggs for the past 36 days and with a PIP in one  could I leave my house in the first place. Well I just to get out. I have the phone charged up so I wouldn't miss anything. Harriet and M15 have been a bit stingy in letting us see the eggs and the last scap (screen capture ) I saw  I figured I had time to go to the nest. I knew we would have a hatch some time today, just didn't know when.ell any off to the nest I go.Met Dona there and we set up and wait for the sun to come up. Donna leaves for a bit and I'm doing a video . M15 flies to the attic with some moss it looks like. He drops down into the nest and Harriet is up flies to the OCT . I'm trying to follow her with my camera while doing a video ...not good...LOL
Harriet is on the OCT ,M15 on the eggs so I look at my phone and what do I see ??? OMG the egg is just about in half .By this time Donna has made it back and I holler to her " The egg is almost in half !!" Woohoooo !!! We're going to have a baby real soon. Noticed how I said We ..lol Yep I'm sure all of you have said that.
So Harriet takes off towards the pond and it looks like she was chasing or buzzing Muscovy Duck . She banks to the right and off past the Church heading SE towards the river. I'll bet you she went to get the baby some fish.
We sit down watch the cam and there's our Baby. 7:23 am E7 made it's entrance into the world. OMG we are so excited . Cute little thing. Donna and I let out a Woohoo or two and did a high five.
Proud Eagle GrandMa's we are !
OMG look at this ! I just checked the cam .

How sweet it that .I see this is going to take me awhile to write this up going this way.LOL
So about 45-50 mins later sure enough here comes Harriet with a nice fish  for the baby. She lands and M15 never gets up.I'm just laughing . He sure does love his turn . Harriet stands there for a bit then up to the veranda then to the attic branch. Harriet sure looks proud this morning. Even looks like she has a smile on her face too.

Harriet leaves again heading to the SW over the Publix pond and beyond.  Well good for her .Needs to get out and stretch her wings  She had a long day and night.
We can see M15 moving around on the nest not sure if he was trying to eat some of the fish or just rearranging things. Every time I would check the came, M15 would have the baby underneath him. Amazing how M15 knows that fish is not for him but for the Baby. Of course I have to say this again.... M15 is no dummy, He knows he has to bring in fish/food for E7 and soon E8. Harriet doing this this morning was NOT and I repeat NOT to show M15 how's it done. He knows this, He's done this for Harriet when she was sitting on the eggs a few times. M15's instincts are very good. This is all hard wired in them. This is what His and Harriet's whole life is all about..to carry on their species.   Well 45 mins later here comes Harriet and flies right to the branch above the cam. Well I guess she is no hurry to take her turn. Harriet did a couple of big crop drops then started preening.  
Done with her preening, Harriet soon flies NW . Bob let us know she wasn't there. Boy she sure is enjoying her morning. I leave around 5 after 10:00 am. I wanted to get home to see the little one and to check on the progress of  E8. 

Here is UrDogNu's video of E7's hatching .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5vnQQ2fGeQ

A short video I took of E7....

Harriet and E 7 

  

                                                    

Bye 2015..... What a Year

I have been thinking and re-thinking of how to put this last blog for 2015 together and I just don't know where to begin. So much has had happened this season.
We start Jan 1, 2015 with 2 beautiful bobble heads, E5 & E6. Oh how we fuss over the two new ones Ozzie and Harriet have and at the same time we hope and pray we don't have a repeat of the year before when we lost E3 to unknown cause. It might have been  from respiratory problems but we'll never know for sure .  
Sadly on Jan 20 th we lost E5 to  unknown cause. Oh the heartbreak of another eaglet loss. Then Harriet having her imbalance issue for a short time. Now we all worry and wonder what else could happen. Harriet's issue left as quick as it showed up.
Better days ahead as E6 grows and is moving about the nest. Days past and E6 is now getting taller ,more feathers and really giving Ozzie and Harriet the business. More food , someone to talk to , many selfies were taken, I think E6 saw himself in the cam and what a ham he was, learning to take the food from Ozzie and mantel the food. We are getting closer to branching. Then E6 branches for the first time..Woohoo . He's getting so big now fledgling will be next on his learning list .
As we all wait for the big day , Ozzie doesn't come home. This is not normal for Ozzie at all. He has never stayed away from the nest this long,never!
On March 17 th  news reports of an injured Eagle that was found on the ground in Fort Myers by the railroad tracks. The local news station shows video of our beloved Ozzie . My heart just skipped a beat knowing he was found but yet again for the fact he was hurt and you could see his wing was not working right. Authorities were able to catch Ozzie and take him to CROW where Ozzie was ID by his lost claw on his left foot. Ozzie stayed for 3 months healing,
In the meantime E6 and Harriet had a few visitors to the nest nest. From the age of 3yrs on up. Some tried to impress Harriet which she wasn't. Some tried stealing food from E6 which E6 himself did a wonderful job of protecting his nest. Others just stopped by to  try and run all others off. But one  4 -1/2 year old stood out from the rest and was able to run everyone else off. Even tho he himself had been run off by Harriet several times and would go behind Publix. This is How he got his name of PublixBoy..His first name. He stayed around and cleaned house. E6 was not pleased with him at all ,but Harriet didn't seem to mind him around and I'm sure she was very thankful for the help this young Eagle was giving her. He sure freed up her time defending the nest and the area for her to continue raising E6 . By this time E6 had fledged on March 23,2015.
E6 continued to learn and learned a lot about keeping your food covered so others can't steal it from you. PB was very well known for his one talon steal.Oh to see that one foot reach into the nest and take E6's food whatever it was , was just too darn funny to watch. The look on E6's face was even better. Of course one time PB went a bit to for with the stealing and Harriet went after him to get back the fish he took. Oh how I wish we could have seen all of it. We did get to see Harriet chasing PB around the nest tree from the cam's.  Harriet did get the fish back and took it to the nest to finish feeding E6. A lesson well learned for E6... Keep your food covered.
Evening times were very interesting to watch as they all went to a spot in the nest tree. E6 on the nest or maybe he would sleep on a branch.PB would find a spot the Harriet would fly up next to him while E6 just not liking it at all. The vocals out of him every single time PB would land and Harriet would sit next to PB were something else . E6 sure didn't like this new guy in "His " nest tree let alone by his Mom. I truly believe that  Harriet and PB started staying in the front pines just to keep E6 quiet...LOL
The more I watched the more I saw Harriet being the one to move closer to PB . This is when I believe a bond was starting to form between PB and Harriet. Harriet was very accepting of PB.
More learning for E6 over at the Publix pond. Fishing , bathes which he never really did a full complete bathe before he left and yes there was protecting "His" pond from an Adult Eagle and it's fledgling. That just totally  surprised me that the Adult didn't go after E6.
Soon it was time for E6 to leave us and start his adventures.  E6 left us on May 4th 2015. This one I'll miss the most out of all of them. I spent the most time with E6 and to watch his progress was soo awesome. E6 in my opinion was the most prepared fledgling Ozzie and Harriet had.
The months go by and Harriet and PB spend their time getting to know each other. Somewhere along the line,PB's name was changed to FV for Frequent Visitor . Ozzie is still at CROW getting better each day. We all wait for the day he will be released and hopefully take back his nest and territory. Little did we know or pay attention to how much Harriet and PB were bonding even during the summer months. They were at the nest together, the pond ,the poles by Bob's . Sometimes I would see just Harriett for a short time then in PB would fly . There was a small amount of nest work being done.
   I would watch as Harriet leaves and PB  would right behind her. Then things slowly started to change. PB would leave and Harriet would follow him. I started to noticed how things between the two of them was changing and that it  really had been this way before E6 left and I just didn't see it. There was a bond between these two.
Ozzie was released in the back part of the property. Ozzie flew to the poles then left heading NE and wasn't seen for 3 months. The joy of his release was great but then the worry of where he was for 3 months outweighed the joy. I wasn't sure if he was ever going to come back and if he was alright. The only thing I knew for sure , was that  Harriet  had moved on with FV. I worried and wondered everyday  where could Ozzie be? Is he ok ? What will happen if he does come back? So many questions and not one answer.
It's now nesting season and Harriet and now known as M15 are working on the nest. M15 's nest building skills are not Ozzie's but he is getting there. He's a 5 yr old just starting out so the instincts take a bit to kick in.
The nest is slowing taking shape. Some days they work on it ,then other days they leave early and don't come back until late. Oh are we ever going to have the nest ready for eggs? Well we have time  We should be alright.
Then 9/19/15 all changed again. Our sweet Ozzie has come home from wherever he was for 3 months. The joy and the tears cried by so many . Welcome home Ozzie !
Little did we know that this joyous occasion would turn to sadness and the most profound grief again in 10 short days.
As I finally made it to the nest that great night Ozzie came home , the only Eagle there was Ozzie.. OMG Hello Ozzie where have you been? He looks great ! There was no doubt in my mind that is was Ozzie. I would know him even without the ban he now has on from being at CROW. I was told by Desiree, Wilbur  and Alice of how Ozzie came into the nest area and went right for M15 who was sitting in the nest tree with Harriet. There was a chase then there was also a chase by Harriet after Ozzie. Hmmm
Ozzie was in and out of the nest area .It looked to me like Ozzie was looking for Harriet but I can't say that for sure. I get some photo's of Ozzie before it gets dark and I leave.
I arrive back at the nest the next morning . No one is home. Then we see Ozzie coming in from the NW lands in the nest . Here comes M15 and Harriet .Vocals the whole way from the NW also. M15 flies up in and thru the nest after Ozzie . Ozzie flies out of the nest heading towards the NW as he does Harriet turns and goes after Ozzie . M15 flies past Harriet , Harriet breaks off the chase then heads back to the nest and lets M15 chase Ozzie to the NW and beyond.  Then Harriet heads off in the same direction.
Now let me tell you. You could hear every single one of us there that morning go "Oh " when Harriet turned around and went after Ozzie. That's when most of us knew for sure , Harriet and M15 were now a couple. As heartbreaking as it was, we knew. Harriet had moved on.
The rest of the day is just a blur of a memory . Not sure how things went but a lot of in and out by Harriet & M15. Ozzie wasn't seen again until Sept 27 th 2015 when he was found in a North Fort Myers backyard entangled on a barbwire fence then got himself fee and was on the ground.
The call for help went out on SWFL facebook page. Myself and another  was able to get to Ozzie and take him to CROW for help. Little did we know, Ozzie was in very ,very  bad shape. Ozzie would pass away at CROW Sept 29th 2015.
My heart was broken. I cried for days along with the rest of you. The world mourned Ozzie death. And I do mean the world. I never knew how many people from all over the world was watching and loved Ozzie and Harriet until then.....
In the meantime M15 went missing for about 2 weeks and we had another young fellow come in and kept Harriet company. Donna and I called him slim. Harriet didn't much care for him but she tolerated him. Then one day as we were there at the nest taking photo's of who we thought was Slim turned out to be M15 .We all started whooping and a hollering . Ya M15 was home again! Even Harriet was happy. He must have come home later in day... the day before and no one noticed it was M15.
So now I will fast forward. There is so much more to tell but I'll just get on to what is going on now.
Harriet and M15 are very well bonded. They have their first eggs as a couple. M15 has shown everyone he does know how to do this...his instincts have kicked in big time.There was no teaching here at all. Well there never was any teaching of any kind. M15 knew all of this. Yes even how to catch fish without Harriet showing him.
From that Young Eagle to an adult ready for his very first clutch to be hatch.  
To watch M15 first thing in the morning so ready for his turn on the eggs is heart warming. It's like he can't wait for his turn...lol
Now we all wait for hatch time in the middle to late Jan to see how Harriet and M15's story continues. Hopefully there will be two healthy bobbleheads to watch and a brand new Dad doing his job as he was hatched/ born to do.
Harriet , you couldn't have picked a better Mate !  
 So as this year comes to an end,I hope for healthy Eaglets and for M15 and Harriet's bond to grow even stronger and may they have many wonderful and joyous years together raising lots of Eaglets.
For all of you that have been here following my blog and my photography page, THANK YOU !  If it wasn't for you , I wouldn't be doing this. May all of you and yours,  have a very Happy New Year .


RIP E3,E5 and our beloved Ozzie. Miss you with all of my heart. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of you .

Glorious Wonders of Nature ... M15 & Harriet's New Beginnings

As you  all know Harriet and M15 had their first egg of season 4 ,12/19/15 at 4:25  p m.
Such a joyous, heart warming,  eggciting, and a relief it was to see that first egg for me and I am sure for all of you too.  Harriet what a pro you are at this.... M15 just like you have done this for a long time.
While sitting at the nest this morning waiting for the sunrise and for the first shift change, the eggcitement was building. We were talking about how M15 hadn't seen the egg yet and how would he react. Well our question was soon answered. Harriet did her soft little vocals for M15 and he answered her back and dropped down into the nest. Harriet moved and M15 got his first look at the egg. I must say , he didn't seem too mistified by it but got right down to his  duties as a Dad .. Oh I can say that now..Dad  LOL
M15 curled his talons and lowered himself on to the egg, did his shimmy like if  he had done it a thousand times before not his very first time. Instincts are a wonderful thing.
M15 adjusted himself a few times while Harriet was on the porch branch then settled right into Dad duties. Harriet still on the porch branch, vocalized to the world of the arrival of their first egg.  Harriet then went to the OC tree and continued to vocalize the good news. Soon the starlings came and joined her on the OC tree signing their congrats to Harriet and M15. All's right with the world today. Such a peaceful way to start the morning.
Harriet preening and vocal at times. We could see M15 was looking around then would watch Harriet on the old cam tree.

Harriet turned around facing the nest tree and vocalized. Maybe she was checking on M15 or giving him instructions . lol Just kidding. Then she turns back around facing the NW....She does this a couple of times. Harriet now facing NW does some more preening and looking around. Then we see M15 get up vocalize back to Harriet and go up to the attic branch. Oh she must want him to come see her . Sure enough there he goes to join Harriet on the OCT. Well now we know what Harriet wanted...Time to make another egg. We have mating.

Yes Harriet we all saw that and the little birds did too. lol
Harriet leaves the OCT and flies back to the nest and her eggie. M15 stays just for a few minutes on the OCT  then flies to the ground to gather up some fluff or a stick for the nest. He comes up with a little moss and a small stick and back to the nest he goes. With that placed off he goes to to a pine close to us and gets some moss and back to the nest. Off again and this time M15 gets a branch with a pine cone still on it .

With his nest building duties done ,M15 lays back down on the egg and Harriet goes up to the attic branch. Harriet leaves heading NW . M15 still on incubation duties. How about that.. Harriet left him in charge. See there's more of a bond between these two than most think there is. TRUST ! Yep they have it. They always did.
About an hour later, Harriet comes home and lands on the attic branch. M15 still on the egg. Harriet isn't in a hurry to sit on the egg so M15 joins her on the attic branch. M15 then flies down to the ground by cam 2 tree. He's gathering up some grass. I guess maybe  his little butt went numb . I have been saying more fluff...lol M15 walks around the tree picks up some fluff in his beak then puts it back down. Nope not enough. M15 hops a bit more gathering up some more fluff, picks it up with his beak, nope still not enough . Then he grabs some in his talons and flies to over to another spot and starts gathering up more grass. Satisfied with what he has ,M15 tries to take off with it. Well it's so much that he had to stop a couple of times to adjust the load. Finally he gave up and left it and went to another tree ,on the ground around this tree M15 spots what looks like a branch. He pulls on it and it's not going anywhere. he found a root and it wasn't budging..lol

He quickly gives up on that and walks to one side of the trunk looking for something to take back to the nest. Not seeing anything to his liking he turns around and goes back the other way  to the dead tree close to all of us. He looks back then preens a little bit then off he goes right over us. He was right over me and I couldn't get all of him in the picture.

Harriet sat watching M15 heading ESE. Again it was Harriet's time to incubate the egg....

What a wonderful start to M15 and Harriet's New Beginnings . This is their story now. Together they will continue on with their lives and raise a few Eaglets ..I hope. I love and miss Ozzie with all my heart and think of him every day but this is no longer about Ozzie and Harriet . It's about M15 and Harriet. To continue to bring Ozzie into their story , to me is disrespectful of M15 and Harriet. I may reference something from time to time such as "Oh Ozzie did this or just like Ozzie" but to say Ozzie has anything to do with this new relationship is just not right. M15 is an Eagle all his own . This is HIS story too !!

12/4/15... Harriet and M15 still on the OCT when I got there. As it got lighter out I could see they were pretty wet from all of the rain. Hope they stay and dry off here but Noooo . They went to the nest briefly then up to the attic. An oops by M15 .I guess he didn't realize Harriet had turned around and he started to land on her head and quickly aborted that move..LOL Harriet sure let him know about it too. Well after that they both headed over to Bob's where M15 made things right.I saw wings just a flapping as I went past on my way home..lol

I have been asked if the window of opportunity to lay eggs is close and I honestly don't know. From the past 3 seasons there was a 2-3 week window where it was determined the eggs were made then laid 4-10 days later, by counting back from the date the first egg was laid to get the approximate time frame. Now from what I read, the window isn't necessarily closed. What was Harriet's window evidently is not now. " The interesting item here is that eagles will mate over a 10 month period but the only mating that results in fertilization happens during a two week period preceding and during the period while the eggs are being laid. I suspect some of this mating is what we scientists would call "bonding behavior" to reinforce their territory and their relationship that must tolerate two killers coming together to procreate. Others of us might more superficially just call this having a good old time. " 

Read that again, and again. When is that two week window ? "but the only mating that results in fertilization happens during a two week period preceding and during the period while the eggs are being laid." 

We knew with Ozzie and Harriet , we don't know with M15 and Harriet yet.

"Different pairs are more closely synchronized from year to year than necessarily from neighbor to neighbor.  There can readily be a two week or even a month's difference in the above time of the cycle between two next door pairs.  And the difference between different years for the same pair is very small.  If a pair lays their first egg February 27 one year it is likely to be within a day or two of that date every year.  In fact seeing a couple of weeks' difference in the laying dates for a pair from one year to the other is a good indicator that one of the pair has been replaced by another -- and a new timing schedule is about to be developed for the new pair."

http://www.hancockwildlife.org/article.php/BaldEagleNestingSeasonDatesEvents

http://www.hancockwildlife.org/article.php/EggsEgg-WhenAndHowTheyDevelop

What Physical Changes Have We Seen Harriet & M15 go thru During Mating and Nesting Season

I have been observing Harriet & Ozzie now for 3 years and M 15 for the past 8 months. I have always just looked at Ozzie & Harriet but never really Looked and understood what Harriet and Ozzie were really doing as far their day to day life's. With Ozzie's absents and with M15 showing up, I started to paid more attention to what they were doing and understanding a bit more.
To see a new bond form between Harriet and M15 from day one was very enlightening for me. To see the same things Ozzie and Harriet had been doing for years are now helping a Young Adult Male Eagle become a partner/mate and soon to be Dad.
I've had to step back and rethink all that I had seen before Ozzie's passing. There was a bond forming between Harriet and M15 the very day he showed up. Sure Harriet ran him off a few times but  M15 was very precinct in coming back to defend Harriet, E6 and the territory that is now His and Harriet's.
So now we go thru the summer and we are getting closer to the Official start of mating season. We have noticed changes in Harriet and M15. Harriet slowly starts to fill out and so does M15. What I mean by fill out is getting fuller , putting on some weight. This doesn't happen all at once it's over a period of time. So they'll need the extra weight/ fat to help keep their metabolism/energy up and to help them keep warm and the eggs too. Of course here in Florida we don't have the winters like everyone else so keeping warm is not a big issue.
We watched as Harriet and M 15 went thru a summer/fall molt but we also noticed that the feathers under M 15 and especially Harriet's tail have gotten fuller in the "ruffled pantie" area as I call it. Sorry  M 15 I know you don't have panties but shorts..LOL
I have only found one article on other birds that state that the Cloacal area does get swollen during the mating season.                                                                                                      http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.eku.edu%2Fritchisong%2Favianreproduction.html&h=VAQE7Eg1y

 So I  can 't help but think this is why we see the feathers so much fuller right now in that area on both of them but more so on Harriet. Now these are just some of my observations. I'm trying to research it but can't find any thing on just Bald Eagles.
Photo's of Harriet last year and this year showing the same fullness back there.
Harriet Oct 31/2014 Not only does this show the feathers, she's also standing on them and it also show's her brood patch.

Harriet this year 11/17/15 See the fullness .

Then there is of course the Brood Patch that both the male and Female get. This is a patch just under the breast in the belly area where they lose feathers and the skin will be touching the eggs to keep them warm while incubating. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_patch

Photo from David Eppley of M15's brood patch and the fluffier tail feathers.

NOT ONE OF OUR EAGLES ! This photo also shows the fluffier feathers at the tail area.

We have also seen what could be sexual arousal or a show of readiness to mate by M15 . Donna was telling me one evening she was up at the nest and M15 saw Harriet heading for the nest. Not only was he vocalizing she also noticed the feathers in the brood patch area had ruffled open. Like he was displaying his brood patch to her or his readiness to mate. There wasn't mating at this time but we have seen this response to Harriet and mating since then.
I have a photo of Ozzie and Harriet last year and you can see the same thing on Ozzie just before he mounts Harriet.
Ozzie and Harriet Sept 19/2014

 This video is from Uta Grobe ...from the SWLF  cam showing M15 with his feathers puffed out.
Arousal ?? :::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPo8IKQ5RH8
I love how they look so innocent afterwards...lol
Now again I have to remind you these are things we see and are thinking that it could be arousal or a display of readiness to mate. Researching this for just Bald Eagles hasn't produced any articles that I could find. just on other birds.  So if anyone does have some information on this I would greatly appreciate it if you would share it with me. Thank You.
Now it was said that M15 was thermoregulating and not a show of arousal. Here is a video of M15 thermoregulating.  There is a difference in what we are seeing
Thermoregulating::: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO9t9NFjUME

Some definitions  of thermoregulating  :::

https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Temperature_Regulation.html

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdmetabolism.html

http://www.klamathbird.org/images/stories/kbo/pdfs_k12_library/build_an_eagle.pdf

How do Eagles Keep warm:::

http://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2012/02/it-was-hard-not-to-feel-sympathy-and.html

http://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2015/02/how-do-eagles-stay-warm.html

I'm sure there are others changes that I have missed here but theses are the most noticeable ones that Donna and I have seen.
 I am by no means a Bird Biologist or anything like that. I'm just a simple person that is seeing things and trying to find answers . Oh the wonders of Nature. So many questions and not enough answers.
I hope that you all find some of this educational and interesting as much as I do. I just wish I had hard cold facts for you and not just observations that might leave you guessing and wondering as much as I am....
I know I'll be paying closer attention next mating season.

Is it the cooler weather or could we have Eggs on the way?

Was good to see both of them in the nest tree sitting side by side this morning. Harriet as usual does her morning vocals. Then we hear what sounded like mating vocals but not mating. I guess Harriet was letting M15 know she was large and in charge. Not long after that , they both drop down into the nest. Again the list is being made and some restorations being done. The past few days more rails have been brought in and lots more fluff. I like the "lots more fluff" part. We can tell from the ground the nest bowl is coming along just fine by how far down Harriet's heads goes and how far up in the air her tail is when she is aerating. Well this might not be the most scientific way of judging but hey it works right?!
Today was another early morning gathering of nesting material. a few sticks and a small amount of moss was brought in by M15. Boy he sure is doing great. Harriet the supervisor let M15 know she was pleased with each stick and the moss brought in. M15 's first attempt at a branch was with a pine branch right there by the porch branch. He tried and tried to get that branch to break and it just wouldn't . Even with grabbing it and dropping down to fly away didn't work so he went to one of his  stash trees and found a small bit of moss then back to the nest.

  Then off he went to the front pine tried to get some pine from there didn't get it then off towards Publix pond .Jay one of the other photographers was at the pond to get sunrise photo's saw M15 fly to a tree and get a branch and came back with what Donna likes to call a puzzle stick. You know one that takes a bit of moving around before it fits just right. Then they have to move it again . Well Harriet tried working with it a few times before it got placed. M15 is on the attic branch and by now you can kind of tell he is scoping out another place to go for more nesting material. Yep off to the other stash tree and this time he lands on the lower branch and is looking around. Ah-ha he found what he was looking for on the ground and off he goes heading back for the nest.

After that was placed M15 headed over to the west treeline. Went to one tree then over to the left and on the ground. I lost him on the ground but then he came up with some vine and back to the nest again. Harriet helped some what with the placement then out to the porch branch she went.

M15 puts his finishing touches on the the rails then hops up to the attic branch. Both are surveying their territory then M15 leaves heading SE way past the Publix pond. I guess he's off to do a check of the area.  Harriet watches him go then does some preening. She looks every now and then to see where he is at. You know she can see him even if we can't. Harriet vocalizes then preens and vocalizes some more. I wonder if she is telling him to bring home a fish for break fast? LOL
Harriet moves up higher and is looking off towards the SE again. About an hour and a half after m15 left ,Harriet heads off in the same direction that M15 went.
Well there we are  and no one home.
Both Harriet and M15 sure have been staying around longer most mornings. They have been coming back to the nest off and on during the day too. While working on my photo's I have the cam up and heard Harriet come back home. Then she started vocalizing and here comes M15 with a fish gift for Harriet. How about that . He brought her one last night also. Could she be getting closer to egg laying? M15 is showing her he can provide and not eat the food himself . Oh my Harriet starts vocalizing again and I have to look at the cam . OMG M15 brought her another fish !!!! That's two with in maybe 30 Min's ? I'm not sure because I didn't check the time. Boy he sure is on the ball.
Harriet stands on this fish and I don't know if she ate it or M15 because I had to finish my photo's.

Harriet is filling out even more. She's a "Girthy " Gal as I call her any way, But she will fill out more for egg laying and incubation of the eggs. Harriet will spend most of her time on the eggs and then the Eaglets to keep them warm. She will have time off the eggs to stretch and maybe even go for her own food. Hopefully , She will feel comfortable to  let M15 egg sit and Eaglet sit.  This will be his first time and I soo hope all goes well. Harriet at times didn't let Ozzie sit to long with the Kids. He so loved sitting with Kids.
So I can't help but wonder if we are getting closer to egg laying time. Hope and Honor were 11/26 /12 and 11/29/12 and hatched  1/1/13 and 1/3/13.

M15 works on the nest all by Himself

At 4:42 am this morning Harriet does some vocals. Nothing new for Harriet.. I don't see them on the cam but that vocal at least tells me she is in the nest tree some where. This morning both were in the nest tree. M15 up high and Harriet down below M15 . Harriet and more vocals with M15 answering  her back. I love the "Good Mornings Vocals" .
M15 drops down into the nest and Harriet joins him soon afterwards. The morning list is being gathered and then M15 up to the attic branch. Harriet is still moving a rail to the right place then some preening on her tail it looks like then hops out to the porch branch.  Harriet back to the nest then up to the veranda. M15 joins her and attempts to mate but Harriet wasn't having it and hopped into the nest. Hmm I watched her do the same thing last night but then they went to the front pine and did it there. Maybe they don't like the reviews they have been getting in performance ?
M15 stays on the higher part of the veranda and he is looking around while Harriet is making the stick and fluff list longer for today.
M15 takes off towards the Publix pond and beyond. Well I guess he has others plans or maybe a new Stick & Fluff place opened up that way..LOL
Harriet on the veranda branch watching M15 . Harriet is preening, looking around and preening while she is on the veranda then she moves up higher for a better view of the area and maybe M15. Harriet and her usual preening while sitting and she roused her feathers. Harriet turns around and now I have her back to me..LOL She's looking SW then NW. Around 7:15 am Harriet leaves heading NW towards the poles by Bob's. I guess no work from either one of them today. That's ok . Both have worked very hard on the nest the past few days. It's good to see how well the nest is coming along. Of course I have a thing about the fluff . I would love to see more of it for Harriet and the eggs to sit on. But if Harriet has an egg today,what is there is good enough for Her , is good enough for me. I'm not the one sitting on it.
We sit back down and wait to see if anyone comes home . An 1 hr and 45 mins later here comes M15 with some thing small in his one talon. I thought it was food from the way he was looking around for Harriet but the photo I got ,it looks like he tried to garb some nesting material one his way in and only got a very small part . Well we're glad he is back. Now maybe he'll do some stick getting while he's here. Of course I have to put in my 2 cents  about the "Fluff"... M15 looking NW I guess he might have spotted Harriet. M15  then flies out of the nest towards the cam 2 tree grabs some moss flies up and over the power lines and some of the moss gets stuck but he keeps going into the west pasture and back to the nest tree. Well how about that. He did this all by himself just like Ozzie would with out Harriet being here.  Great Job M15 !
M15 rests for a bit then off again he flies this time to the west pasture . He finds what he is looking for and back he comes with more moss that is stuck to a branch WTG M15.  Up and over the lines around the nest tree past OCT  around the big full tree that the Horse's like to stand under by the Church side and right past us. Wow he wasn't even bothered by us or looking at us .Always focused on where he is going and what he is doing.  M15 heads back to the nest tree and up to the attic branch he lands. As he is dropping down into the nest some of the moss is left on the branch. Well at least he got the stick into the nest maybe he'll get the moss later. M15 rests a bit then up to the attic and is still looking for Harriet to come back. He leaves heading right past us and behind the Church going NE.
Well I guess the moss will have to wait until later when Harriet gets home.
15 mins after M15 leaves Harriet goes past heading over towards the tree by the parking lot. One of the other Eagles showed up. Oh sure she can see that but not M15 working on the nest.  LOL
I'm sure she did see him and just didn't want to come home and help.
While I was trying to type all of this down , I heard Harriet on the cam and switched over to see her. She is on the OCT . She just got done with a bath and is preening and thermoregulating and roused her feathers  while vocalizing off and on. And what I mean by thermorgulation is that you see her puffing out her feathers in the front and other spots to let the outside air circulate thru and helps cool her off and help dry the feathers at the same time. Then you see her rouse which is a lot like a dog when it shakes all over to get the rest of the water off and fluff up their fur some then the fur lays down.. So does Harriet with her rousing. She fluffs up the feathers then they lay down a bit smoother. She then does her preening to get them back into to shape/ straighten out .I got about 11 mins of it on video and will put it in here. I missed her landing there and the bath darn it!! Oh well it's not like the last bath she'll every have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymguXLG_i0M   After Harriet's Bath today.
Photo's for the Morning......
# 1...M15
# 2...Harriet
# 3... Harriet
# 4... Harriet Rousing her feathers
# 5... Harriet leaving
# 6- # 13 All M15