Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to CHIL EagleCAM. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Egg Question; Thickness
Topic Started: Aug 26 2006, 04:55 PM (435 Views)
MaMiMoBa Mom
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
While at the Pittsburgh Zoo we were able to see and hold an empty ostrich egg. We also got to feel pieces of the broken shell. The ostrich egg shell was very thick... felt like a seashell. Is that how thick a healthy eagle egg is as well? Just wondering. I think I recall somebody comparing the size of an ostrich egg to that of a bald eagle egg. The instructor told us that an ostrich egg could hold about 30 chicken eggs.

Also learned that DDT affected the Perguine (sp?) Falcon here in Pennsylvania as well. We learned that there are only currently 12 nesting pairs in Pa. right now and some have live webcams. One nesting pair is located on the Cathedral of Learning which is the heart of the University of Pittsburgh.

I'm also wondering if it will ever be possible to see bald eagles here in Pennsylvania? What needs to happen to get nesting bald eagles in this area of the country?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Eagle Guy
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
The following website, http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=458&q=152498, indicates that there were 96 breeding pairs of bald eagles in Pennsylvania last year and that the number is steadily climbing.

Healthy bald eagle eggs aren't too much thicker than a chicken's egg. They are just a little smaller than a goose egg.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MaMiMoBa Mom
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
:o Thank you very much Dr. Sharpe for the link! I think I'll have some fun searching for some Pennsylvania bald eagles in the near future!! I'm soooo darn excited...too bad it's raining today or I'd already be loaded up with the kids in the car on my first excursion! :D
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ElaineRuth
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
MaMiMoBa Mom,Aug 26 2006
05:55 PM
While at the Pittsburgh Zoo we were able to see and hold an empty ostrich egg.  We also got to feel pieces of the broken shell.  The ostrich egg shell was very thick... felt like a seashell.  Is that how thick a healthy eagle egg is as well?  Just wondering.  I think I recall somebody comparing the size of an ostrich egg to that of a bald eagle egg.  The instructor told us that an ostrich egg could hold about 30 chicken eggs. 

Also learned that DDT affected the Perguine  (sp?) Falcon here in Pennsylvania as well.  We learned that there are only currently 12 nesting pairs in Pa. right now and some have live webcams.  One nesting pair is located on the Cathedral of Learning which is the heart of the University of Pittsburgh. 

I'm also wondering if it will ever be possible to see bald eagles here in Pennsylvania?  What needs to happen to get nesting bald eagles in this area of the country?

My sister lives in Harrisburg, PA and turned me on to the pair of Peregrine Falcons and their brood that nest each year on a ledge of the Rachael Carson building.
If you're familiar with Rachel Carson you will know how ironic that is!
If not please visit this site:

http://www.rachelcarson.org/

And it wasn't planned for anything to make their home on her building. It happened years after her death.
Mother Nature sure has a sense of humor.
If interested (it's really an interesting story) do a search on Peregrine Falcons in Harrisburg and read about the live cam and how it came about.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Hulabird
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
That's a nice story Elaine
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bobbie
Member
Here is the URL for the Harrisburg peregrine falcon web cam:

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/

It has been turned off until next season. I watched this cam through the fledging of the birds. I believe there were 5 babies. One of them died after fledge. He was the smallest one. He hit an electric line. It is a very interesting site. There are volunteers on the ground during fledging to track the birds and report back to a central command center. This nest is right in downtown Harrisburg.

Bobbie
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Cumbrian
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Welcome Bobbie, Thanks for posting.

That's so sad about the smallest one, seems there are hazards everywhere for the young fledglings.

Do you live in or near Harrisburg? Interesting that they have the volunteers to track the falcons on fledging.


Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bobbie
Member
I'm originally from Pittsburgh but I now live in Sun Lakes AZ, a burb of Phoenix. I moved to Phoenix from Northern California 3 years ago. I never visited Santa Cruz Island, but I spent a lot of time on Catalina Island. I did a lot of scuba diving over there when I lived in Southern California. I am now retired and having fun in the sun :)

I didn't watch this nest much while Cruz was there. I usually checked in a few times a day along with the Falcon nest, the Storks in Germany, the eagles in Maine and the Hornby and Saanich nests. I didn't know this forum existed until a few months ago. I don't post much, just read a lot. This is such a great group. So very different from the Infotec forum.

My only suggestion for improvement would be to make it easier to find the new posts, other than that I think it is very organized and moderated.

Bobbie
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Joanie
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Hi Bobbie, and Welcome~
It took me awhile to figure this out but if I open the Invision Power Board on its 'home page' the blue circles on the left are a darker shade of blue if there has been ANY activity in the major categories since my last visit ... for example, I just 'refreshed' my screen after having been away for a bit and the 'What are your questions' title was darker blue so I clicked on it and then saw that the 'egg question' was darker so clicked on it and was able to read the last several posts, including yours. The other option is that on the right side (also 'questions' since it was darker blue) I could see your name along with today's date and the time of 10:50 so I KNEW it was new to me....the only problem with that method is that since by clicking on the words 'egg question' I would go directly there and possible miss something new under the other topic of 'What are your questions'....
I hope I haven't made this sound more complicated than it really is :)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Patti
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Elaine Ruth: I enjoyed the Rachel Carson web link and now very vividly recall when her book The Silent Spring was released. Thank you for posting this link.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bobbie
Member
Here is an update on the Harrisburg falcons.

8/28/2006 :: Update on Young Birds
The red-banded juvenile female was found injured near Safe Harbor, along the Susquehanna River, Lancaster County two weeks ago. Her injuries were severe. Despite the best efforts of wildlife rehabilitators, she had to put down. These young peregrines face many hazards in their first year of life. Among them, power lines, building glass and bridge support members. The cause of the injuries to this bird is unclear. As for the surviving three juveniles: blue-band, green-band and yellow-band, as far as we know they are okay; no news is good news. Green and blue were last seen near the nest ledge in mid-July. At this point, the juveniles are probably completely independent and will, or already have set out to explore new territories.

If anyone has been watching the Maine bald eagle nest, you will be happy to hear that they are going to keep the camera up all year. Those eagles do not migrate and should start nest rehabilitation shortly.

Bobbie;
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ElaineRuth
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Bobbie,Aug 30 2006
07:16 PM
If anyone has been watching the Maine bald eagle nest, you will be happy to hear that they are going to keep the camera up all year. Those eagles do not migrate and should start nest rehabilitation shortly.


Fantastic! But I guess I'm a little surprised. It gets mighty cold in Maine.
Then again........ do the Alaskian eagles migrate south in the winter??
Hulabird, run after that guy with plates and ask him, would you??

(xcuse typos....bad tonite)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bobbie
Member
Folks interested in the Maine eagle nest have started a chat forum. Here is the URL.

http://www.hostingphpbb.com/forum/index.php?mforum=tdbc

It looks like they are going to also monitor many other nests on the southern east coast,.

Bobbie
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · What are your questions? · Next Topic »
Add Reply