A second eyass was visible today at the Riverside nest. (Eyasses don’t hatch all at the same time, so it’s common during the first few days for observers of a nest to see one, then two and hopefully three eyasses, after seeing just one initially.)
The winds were high along the river, so the video is a bit jumpy. Despite the poor quality of the video, it was great to see two healthy and hungry eyasses.
It’s still really hard to get a glimpse of an eyass at Riverside. Expect to spend an hour or two to get just a brief look. The number of eyasses is also still unclear.
This pair has had such a difficult time with only one youngster having made it out of nine in the last three years makes this new nest extra special. For those unfamiliar with the story, in 2008 three eyasses died due to secondary rat poisoning, in 2009 two out of three fledglings died after being hit by cars, and earlier this year three eyasses were killed when the nest collapsed in strong winds.
So this second clutch brings with it new hopes for this pair of hawks.
My last images of a Riverside youngster may have been difficult to make out. Luckily, today one of the eyasses was a little more cooperative. Hopefully, we’ll have a better idea how many eyasses there are after a few more days.
The wait is finally over. Today, I got to see glimpses of a newborn eyass at the Riverside nest. After all the mixed signals over the hatch date, and the extreme heat, it’s great to see finally see a youngster.
The video shows three slow motion glimpses of the eyass through gaps in the nest, and then a visit by the father who takes out some trash. Watching the video in full screen mode will help.
I haven’t really known what to make of this second nest this year at Riverside. It is so late in the season, my past experiences with this pair are of no use.
The clues about hatching seem to be there but things don’t seem quite right. The mother and father have changed behavior, but things seem off. Yes, the mother is not sitting on eggs anymore, but the kids haven’t been seen after more than a week, and where is the white wash that would normally be all over the nest after a week of eyasses?
That said, I also know this is a very deep nest, which is next to impossible to photograph. The eyasses also would have hatched in extreme heat, which may slow their activity.
So, each day I look for clues. Today, I saw what looked to be a true feeding, not just the mother eating. A nice positive sign.
Below are three movies and photographs from Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. We’re still waiting for a glimpse of an eyass. Hopefully, this will happen soon. With the extreme heat of last week, there are concerns that one or more of the eyasses may have passed away.
