Thank you, JudyB, for the reassurance. Guess I just had the, "must maintain a 105 degree F temperature" stuck in my head. Cannot say where I read that but have seen it a few times on the threads. Really do appreciate how you keep us "together" when we start trying to get "nest anxiety".

9:41 am,
Incubating and gathering nest fluff closer.

10:55 pm mountain time
They certainly are coming and going more than many adults - the nest is empty again now. It's now obvious that it's a sunny day - I don't actually know, but it seems unlikely that an egg could survive being frozen. But there have been instances where they've been left alone for several hours when it was around 40 degrees, and they were fine.

I need to research that 105 degree thing - I think I've also heard 95 degrees, and don't remember where I saw either. I'll check and see if David has anything in the Eagle biology area, then check the CHIL forum - where they incubated eggs for years, I'm sure they know the proper temperature. Lisa may also have something on the Blackwater website.

11:35 am
Nest is empty, and I don't think an adult has returned since I posted the first part of this a half hour ago. I'm not worried about the egg - I think it will be fine. But it is unusual behavior for nesting eagles. I just checked back to last year's thread on the old forum, and it doesn't look as if we really posted during the time between the first and second egg, so we don't actually have a record of what's "normal" for this pair. I guess after this year we will.

12:25 pm
Nest is still unattended. I'm not going to worry about the egg until sunset - but I am getting a bit concerned about the adults. I wonder if one of the pair is new and hasn't quite got the nesting thing down yet.

12:40 pm
There's an eagle on the nest. She's blending into the shadows quite nicely - but I'm quite sure she wasn't there until a couple of refreshes ago. She(?) is incubating, facing towards the right (or towards 3 o'clock, if you picture a clock face on top of the nest window). Glad to see her back.

12:43 pm
Now she's up and looks to be turning the egg
And back to incubating, now facing left, or the 9:00 position

1:29 pm
Both are at the nest
It's looking as if it might be Dad incubating while Mom stands and watches - but the standing eagle may only look bigger because he/she is closer to the cam
Good to see both of them!

3:35 pm
Both were standing for a minute or so after my last post, then the cam froze for a couple of minutes. When it came back, there was only one eagle in the nest, incubating. I think it was a switch, with Mom arriving to take over from Dad. I've been busy since then so may have missed some action. There is an eagle on the nest incubating now, facing the cam.

Thank you very much, JudyB, for your experienced comments and observations. So glad you saw both of them on the nest at the same time.

Seems to me that the egg is unattended more than would have been expected. Maybe I don't think like an eagle just yet.

Several times when one adult was on the nest, it just stood there looking at the egg before rolling or incubating. Curious nest behavior, for sure. It will be interesting to watch. It does lead one to question whether or not both adults are experienced.

Even if I don't know why they are doing what they are doing, it is for certain that the eagles know best how to survive. I will try to quelch the idea of nest disturbance in the area but I am a skeptic by nature.

7:36 pm,
Egg roll, incubating.

7:45 pm,
Egg roll, incubating.

Finally getting around to posting the egg hatch video of yesterday, 18 Mar 2010.

Video: Libby's First Egg

Thanks so much for the video slideshow, CAL - it does look as if the egg was probably laid at about 7:45. I'll update the first post and my spreadsheet. It's still so magical when an eagle steps aside and you see the egg for the first time.

Thank you for keeping an eye on this nest, JudyB,

I am so happy to have the refresh cam up and running again this year and to have the benefit of sharing the experience with seasoned nest watchers such as yourself.

As you already know, I tend to get somewhat emotional about this home turff Montana nest. This year I will do my very best to see it all as nature unfolding and to be thankful that I could share, as you say, the "magical" experience. Oh yes, it is "magical"!

Well, we'll soon see if there is going to be a 2nd egg on the Libby nest and if so what behaviors the adults show us this time.

Cam watching is quite the experience since there are variables that give rise to questions which often must go unanswered. Spring an exciting season!

8:06 am,
Parent just left; egg is unattended.

8:12 am,
Parent returned. Incubating.

Earlier today:

Adult on nest at daylight.


1st egg roll of the day.

The good news is that the egg has not been unattended for lengthy periods of time this morning. The bad news is that I cannot tell which parent is on the nest most of the time. It's possible that there have been 2 parent switches already today. It looks like Mom is on the nest now (8:16am).

Departed the nest.


Return or switch?