9 November 2009 – At 5am the eaglet had not moved from its precarious roosting position. By 6am both of the parent eagles were sat next to their chick on the support cables of the mast. They dutifully dissuaded ravens and currawongs from approaching. The female dived at something in the Waterbird Refuge and then worked her way back up the mast in short flight stages, eventually landing right next to the eaglet. Over the next two hours both birds circled around the tower trying to coax the eaglet to take flight with them. The parents eventually gave up and floated up out of sight in a thermal. The ravens then took their opportunity to get close by deviously tiptoeing up the support cables, one raven on each side. The poor old eaglet didn’t know which way to turn. As soon as it faced one raven, the other raven took its chance to inch closer. The winner of this double-dare contest eventually took the prize of nipping the eaglet on the backside. This masterly manoeuvre convinced the eaglet in no uncertain terms that it was time to leave and it took off and glided down towards Homebush Bay. It landed in a casuarina tree on the waterfront but soon moved back to its haunt, another radio tower above the river at the end of the bay where it stayed for at least an hour with the adult birds occasionally circling overhead. We do not know what happened after that but, miraculously, the eaglet was recorded arriving back at the nest by the EagleCam at midday. If it had found its own way back to the nest then that is truly remarkable but we suspect that the adults may have lured it back with a fish brought back to the nest. So there it is: the eaglet’s first adventure! After 2 months of nest building, 1½ months of sitting on eggs and 3 months of rearing it is finally ready to explore the world.
8 November 2009 –In the late afternoon the eaglet took off from its perch and circled above the forest being chased by currawongs and ravens. We could not see it but we could hear the complaints of the currawongs and ravens getting further and further away. Where had the eaglet gone? We searched around the adjoining parklands to no avail and presumed that it had eventually doubled back into the forest. Later in the evening we heard a commotion going on near the Waterbird Refuge with cockatoos croaking, currawongs cursing and ravens ranting. It was the eaglet and it was sat 65 metres up one of the radio towers! An adult eagle was flying around the mast trying to chase away the ravens whilst the eaglet had adopted a safety position with its head tucked inside the triangular structure of the mast. The adult flew back towards the river at 7:30 leaving the eaglet to fend off the ravens for another hour before they retired for the night. The eaglet faced a very lonely night perched high in the sky on the tower, on its own and over 1½ kilometers from the nest.
7 November 2009 – The eaglet has been venturing away from the nest this week taking short flights above the forest and perching in nearby trees. The adults are continuing to bring fish and gulls to the nest and as soon as food arrives the eaglet has been flying straight back onto the nest to feed. The female has usually remained perched near the eaglet in the forest whilst the male has spent extended periods away from the forest catching prey which he has brought back to the nest. We did see all three birds perched together today which made a nice family portrait.
23 October 2009 – It was a momentous day today as the eaglet took its first flight! Admittedly, it was a short flight from the nest up to a nearby perch but it was a very important first step for the young bird. It has been quite active on the nest over the past week exercising its wings and climbing up the limbs of the nest tree to perch next to the adults.
18 October 2009 – The chick is almost ready to fly now, the “due” date being around the 21st October. It has been launching itself tentatively above the nest with flapping wings. The female spent some hours on a high branch next to the nest just keeping an eye on the eaglet but she was constantly being harassed by a pair of Pied Currawongs. Every time they swooped past or even threatened to approach she honked at them in annoyance. We heard the chick honk at the currawongs too, sounding just like the adults.
10 October 2009 –The chick was being swooped by Pied Currawongs this morning. The currawongs kept up the hassle for quite some time and are probably nesting quite close to the eagles’ nest. The chick just sat in the nest and took it on the chin. At one point the currawong appeared to almost land on top of the chick’s head as it swooped past. The currawongs are no real threat to the eaglet at this stage as it is almost fully grown but they must be very annoying, nevertheless.
5 October 2009 – The chick is now looking really big and healthy and the adults are spending more time away from the nest on hunting expeditions. Both eagles were in Homebush Bay this afternoon with the male catching a Silver Gull and the female catching a fish. The female pushed the male with his gull off of his feeding perch in the bay as she landed with the fish. It was almost if she was signalling to him to go back to the nest and feed the chick instead of feeding himself.
13 September 2009 – The larger eaglet is now losing its downy appearance and is starting to develop its immature plumage with patches of brown feathers poking through. There was no sign of the smaller eaglet in the nest and we can only assume that it has perished. It was a very warm day today in Olympic Park with the afternoon temperature reaching 32 degrees. The eaglet was obviously feeling the heat and was moving around the nest seeking any small patches of shade it could find. The female spent quite some time on the nest feeding a fish to the ever hungry eaglet and finishing off the remainder herself, including large chunks of fish skin that she swallowed whole. In the afternoon the adults spent over an hour down in the brick pit, just over one kilometre from the nest, where there are shallow freshwater ponds. Both birds took the opportunity to drink with the female taking a bath and afterwards she spent some time perched on an old power pole drying out before flying off.
30 August 2009 – Sibling Rivalry: We were taking some photos in the forest this afternoon and briefly got a glimpse of two chicks in the nest. The small one is about half the size of the larger one. When we reviewed the CCTV recording we could see the small eaglet stood up by itself, fell over and then got stamped upon by the large eaglet. Although we have had fleeting views of the smaller chick on the CCTV footage we assume the reason we have not seen it up until now from our position on the ground is that it is being physically dominated by the larger chick. Earlier we had seen the big chick peck down into the nest at what looked like the remains of the Silver Gull but having seen the smaller chick now we are convinced that it was actually attacking its sibling.
3 August 2009– EXCITING NEWS: different behaviour on the nest showing that at least one egg has hatched. Both parents have been at the nest, though it seems that the female is brooding more. The male has been standing on the nest as well and it will be interesting to see if he also broods. He appears to be bringing food to the nest and is spending more time nearby. The female takes short breaks, on a branch above the nest, and has a brownish stain on her breast feathers. She straddles the chick (or chicks) and takes some time shuffling and adjusting her feathers before she settles. Both birds are very alert, looking about and reacting to the alarm calls of other birds nearby. On Sunday there was a serious fire close by at Silverwater and there were many sirens wailing and explosions going off. A thick plume of black smoke was in the air all day. Fortunately the eagles do not seem to have been affected by the disturbance. As the eagles are nest faithful now, we are able to watch the nest from the hide we have set up in the woodland. Though the parents are certainly aware that we are there, they are not disturbed as we watch.
Spying on the Parramatta River Sea-Eagles
The White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) is a fairly common sight along the coasts and inland rivers of Australia, as well as further afield. Even as our second largest raptor, little is known about their complete breeding cycle, from nest building to fledging. The huge nest of large sticks is commonly placed in a high tree and the nest may be used for many years in succession.
The Parramatta River Sea-Eagles are often seen during the day on their prominent mangrove perch, loafing or feeding on a mullet or other fish from the wetlands. They may also be seen soaring overhead on up-swept wings. The nest is placed high in a Scribbly Gum in the Newington Nature Reserve and has been used by a succession of Sea-Eagles over the years. Each year the nest has been monitored and valuable observations made.
At the beginning of May this year, volunteers from the Birds Australia Discovery Centre and Sydney Olympic Park Rangers placed a camera high in the nest tree. This will provide a wonderful opportunity to closely monitor daytime breeding behaviour at the nest. Already many interesting observations have been made, after looking at the recordings (a big job in itself). In the first month of nest-renovation, Jon Irvine has recorded at least 184 sticks being brought to the nest. The male has brought 75% of the sticks and at least 40% of his visits to the nest have involved bringing sticks. The female has brought 25% of the sticks and for at least 18% of her visits she was bringing sticks. The female however was responsible for bringing the vast majority of green leaves. Both birds arrange the sticks and leaves, and spend time arranging and renovating. The significance of the green leaves lining the nest is not understood: it is suggested the leaves may be for camouflage, have antiseptic properties or have some social relevance.
Eagle Watch continues and anyone visiting the Discovery Centre during opening times on weekends may watch the live action as well as recordings of previous interesting behaviour. Short clips of their behaviour is available for viewing below.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our EagleCAM supporters, who have donated their time, skill and financial assistance: Jon Irvine Geoff Hutchison Judy Harrington Graham Weule Joan Rosenthal Bruce Frost Alison Doyle Comsec TR Pty Ltd TheCCTVStore.com.au The Stump Guy Tree Care Sydney Olympic Park Authority Birds Australia and the wonderful Discovery Centre Volunteers
07:03 Thursday 14th May 2009
After Eagle-cam was set up we first saw the eagles at the nest on the 8th May and they were first recorded by the camera bringing sticks and leaves to the nest on the 12th May. In the first week up to 13th May there was not much activity and the birds were only present on the nest for a total of six and a half hours. This morning the male arrived with a stick but dropped it over the side of the nest as he landed. His reaction was quite comical as he turned around to grab it but could only peer at it falling to the ground!
06:56 Wednesday 27th May 2009
We had a scare this morning when reviewing the early morning footage. The male had just brought in a stick and was leaving the nest. As he jumped up to take off, his talon got caught in the side of the nest. What happened next was extraordinary. He didn’t try to work loose his foot but instead hung upside down motionless for nearly one and a half minutes breathing heavily. When he finally attempted to fly clear of the nest his foot became disentangled and he flew off. It appeared as if the resting period was a type of stress response, perhaps more familiar in domestic fowl than in raptors. This highlights the perils of nest-building for raptors with large talons; some may even get entangled in nests and perish there. Thankfully, the male returned some minutes later with another stick, apparently uninjured, and carried on as usual as if nothing had happened.
12:35 Friday 12th June 2009
The female moved a dead rat around the nest for a while and then started to pluck off the fur and eat bits of its flesh. She finally flew off with the half-eaten rat in her talons.
08:06 Saturday 13th June 2009
This is a great piece of footage with first the male flying in from the forest at the back of the nest and then the female doing exactly the same thing one minute later, flying in between the trees to land on the nest.
09:25 Saturday 13th June 2009
There was a bit of a misjudgement by the female this morning as she was landing with a stick. The poor male was already on the nest as the female flew in. He first got hit by the stick that she was carrying and then, if that was not enough, the female landed directly on top of him! They both then struggled with the stick to put it in its place. It is surprising that the eagles do not get injured in these types of manoeuvres.
07:19 Thursday 18th June 2009
The male brought a freshly caught sub-adult silver gull to the nest this morning. He started to pluck it, making a mess of feathers in the cup of the nest. Fifteen minutes later he returned to the nest with the gull to remove some more feathers but again took off with it. He finally returned twenty minutes after that with the remains of the gull to eat on the nest. In summertime silver gulls nest on the sunken barges in the bay and the eagles are adept at catching both the chicks on the barges and the adults trying to defend them in the air.
12:59 Sunday 21st June 2009
We witnessed an eagle tug-of-war today with both birds at either end of a large stick, each trying to place it at the rim of the nest, which resulted in the pair just going around in circles.
About BA 
warm day today in Olympic Park with the afternoon temperature reaching 32 degrees. The eaglet was obviously feeling the heat and was moving around the nest seeking any small patches of shade it could find. The female spent quite some time on the nest feeding a fish to the ever hungry eaglet and finishing off the remainder herself, including large chunks of fish skin that she swallowed whole. In the afternoon the adults spent over an hour down in the brick pit, just over one kilometre from the nest, where there are shallow freshwater ponds. Both birds took the opportunity to drink with the female taking a bath and afterwards she spent some time perched on an old power pole drying out before flying off.
Spying on the Parramatta River Sea-Eagles
Eagle Watch continues and anyone visiting the Discovery Centre during opening times on weekends may watch the live action as well as recordings of previous interesting behaviour. Short clips of their behaviour is available for viewing below.
Joan Rosenthal