PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AFRICAM.COM TO BROADCAST HATCHING OF THREATENED
BLACK EAGLE CHICK LIVE ON THE INTERNET
www.blackeagles.co.za

So meet Emoyeni (Upon the wind) and her 3rd husband
Thulani (The shy one)

Click HERE for the CAM
The time there is GMT (UTC)
And the Cam seems to go off at nightfall - which comes early in the tropics!
The time in Johannesburg has been put above the cam - for easy reference!

Africam.com, who was the first to bring you live streaming full motion video of African
wildlife over the internet (lions, rhinos, giraffes etc.) is set to bring you another first. In
partnership with the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans, they are proud to announce the
launch of the new Black Eagle live streaming webcam at www.africam.com


A Black Eagle coming in to land

We wish to thank and acknowledge Garth Heydenrych - BEPR photographer
for his wonderful photographs.

The brainchild of Project Coordinator, Libby Woodcock and her team at Black Eagle Project, they are dedicated to the conservation of these threatened raptors and will use the live streaming webcam to view the hatching of the chicks in real time.
The first egg is expected to hatch around the 22nd of May. The second egg should follow four to five days after.
The project will also monitor and obtain vital research on their breeding cycle, which in conjunction with Wits Zoology Department, will help to conserve the Eagles within their habitat and educate viewers worldwide.


Join the Africam Twitter Alert so you don’t miss the event LIVE!
Follow the Africam Twitter Alert and you will get up to the minute real time alerts.
www.twitter.com/africam Africam will alert you when the eggs start hatching so you
don’t miss the hatchings LIVE
For more information on the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans go to
www.facebook.com/blackeagleproject
# # #
Contact May 18, 2010
Jon Oliver - Africam CEO
+27 (0) 83 6000 719
jono@africam.com
May 18, 2010

A Very Warm Welcome to the Black Eagle Project - Roodekrans

About the Project:

The Black Eagle Cam is situated in the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The camera is a joint project supported by a number of sponsors including Africam.
The project's aims are to create awareness and support for the Black Eagle Project, which was set up in 1998 as an affiliate to the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden and was registered as an independent, Section 21, non-profit organization.
The project consists of a 7 member committee and approximately 30 dedicated volunteer members.
What is so significant about this project is that these eagles are the last of a once much larger population that inhabited the mountain ridges of Johannesburg. Due to the expansion of the city of Johannesburg their habitat and food source has come under threat.
This specific nesting site has been documented as far back as the early 1940’s and it is estimated that the current mating pair are the third or fourth descendants from the first documented nesting pair.

The Black Eagle is the finest of the genus Aquilla - a truly magnificent coal black bird with a white back and V on the shoulders.
The handsome plumage is enhanced by consummate grace in flight ... When perched, the small head and tapering neck gives the eagle an almost regal appearance.
The juvenile Black Eagle, unlike the adult, is cryptically coloured and its plumage blends with broken rock, bush and trees of the surroundings.
Feathered nestlings and juveniles are mottled brown, with a pale gold crown and nape, russet - brown mantle and neck, black cheeks and throat, cream forehead variously flecked with brown; the feathered legs, cream with light brown flecks; cere and toes, creamy yellow; bill grey, darker at tip; eye brown.
Rump feathers are cream, edged brown; tail and flight feathers barred light and dark brown and with light fawn tips.
In flight the young eagle shows the emerging pattern of ‘windows’ in the wing, the characteristic but less pronounced leaf - shaped wing and an indistinctly margined light rump.

There is some excellent information on these eagles - their history - their nest and where the cam is at Hedgiesjoy Blogspot

Be aware that these birds practise Cainism - or Siblicide!
Excellent Article to be found HERE


~~~~~~~~~~

Added by JudyB:

Yalitldevl has done some additional research on the pair and their environment. The software doesn't allow us to move her posts to the first page, so
please click here to learn more about Emoyeni (female) and Thulane (male), previous nesting seasons, prey in the area, and more..

Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden

Malcolm Rd, Poortview
Nr Johannesburg

Using the natural terrain as well as some landscaped areas, the Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden (formerly the Witwatersrand Botanical Garden) features indigenous plants, rare species and themed displays for visitors to enjoy.

Set in the picturesque foothills of the Witwatersrand range, this botanical garden unites native species with rare and beautiful ones. A semi-wild area replicates the rocky Highveld grassland terrain of the Witwatersrand, complete with a small pond. This is especially beautiful in late spring and early summer when the wild flowers are in full bloom.

Other areas include a herb garden, a succulent garden and a "waterwise garden", which shows visitors how to make the most of their gardens without using excess water (a bonus in an area where it can be rare).

Although only designated a National Botanical Garden in July 1982 - the youngest of the South Africa National Botanical Garden's eight gardens throughout the country - and first opened to the public five years' later, it took its current name from Walter Sisulu (1912-2003), one of the leaders of South Africa's democratic struggle.

The gardens also attract a variety of wildlife and feature the only known nesting place in Gauteng of the endangered Black Eagle (aka Verreaux's Eagle), by the dramatic Witpoortjie waterfall.
Article

Saving the Black Eagles for our children!


Have you ever felt the thrill and absolute awe of watching a black eagle catching thermals – one minute savouring the currents on its 2.3 meter wingspan, the next minute with wings folded arrow like it plummets downwards - lost momentarily in swirling cloud – it appears again resolute and intent as it nears the earth – you wonder if it will be able to stop before it hits the ground - and to your amazement its large wings stretch out and it hurtles back up into the sky! It is a totally breathtaking sight, as the eagle climbs higher and higher - until it is not visible with the naked eye - and all of this in just a few minutes.

This is the world of the ‘Black Eagles of Roodekrans.’ Weighing up to 4.8 kg this is one of Africa’s largest and most spectacular eagles. - These are certainly the masters of the sky! This web site is dedicated to them and their struggle for survival here in the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden.

Click here for more about these eagles - beautiful photos and a map!

Friday 21st May 2010

13:05
Parent is sitting on the eggs - in what seems to be a cool spot!

13:19
This must be Dad - he landed with a leafy branch - and is being told off by mum - must be the same the world over
The description of a white V on the shoulders makes sense now!

14:06
The White V on the shoulders seems less pronounced in the Female - almost like a daisy chain

SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2010

Pat, I couldn't find +1GMT in the list in our account settings to help me figure out what NT is! So I am going with PDT for now!


She/HE went for a quick stretch (wasn't gone more than a minute!) and came right back! I don't think it was a nest exchange. Unfortunately, I can't make out the eggs (Are they hidden behind the rock??)

2:05 am PDT - Off for a stretch??


205 am PDT - Home again!


Settled in!

She seems restless, not able to stay still for any length of time. Up and down many times since I started to watch about an hour ago!

Off for a quick stretch, back again (this time I saw the egg, as her weight seemed to unbury it) and an egg roll! She settles in again with the same gentle rocking motion with talons curled, our bald eagles make.

2:58 am PDT - I think that is an egg by her foot. (Now that I look at it more closely, is that a crack in it??)


2:59 am PDT - Egg roll! (I saw her move the egg!)

15:11
Well done in spotting the eggs Gemini - it they are up and down and can't settle - it often means there's something happening - Watch this space!
The adult in you scap is probably the male - he has the wider white V on his shoulders - pics above refers!

Dad has been busy - Look at all that extra greenery he has brought in

I'm getting the dreaded white circle a lot - are you?

3:32 pm (I think -- I'll have to check into the time difference.)
Adult landed on the nest to incubate the eggs.

My s'caps, whichever eggs you create that it has one or two,,

17:35
And suddenly it is quite dark!!
I can just make out the beak of the sitting parent!

Quote by: PEB

I will have to alter what I said in the opening post - This nest is the same as GMT (UTC)
I keep forgetting that we are on BST at the moment!!
It might be easier to send you here :

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

and you can scroll down to Johannesburg

That must mean if it's 9:18 a.m. in Sidney it would be 6:18 p.m. in Johannesburg.

Quote by: jkr

Quote by: PEB

I will have to alter what I said in the opening post - This nest is the same as GMT (UTC)
I keep forgetting that we are on BST at the moment!!
It might be easier to send you here :

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

and you can scroll down to Johannesburg

That must mean if it's 9:18 a.m. in Sidney it would be 6:18 p.m. in Johannesburg.

YES
Add 9 to Sidney nest time!

When I post - I am putting the right time there!

No hatching yet, I see. It is such a beautiful eagle.. almost as pretty as our Bald Eagles!

Just about 3PM here... turning Midnight in S.A.

Approximately 8:30AM at the nest

Restless? click to watch!

SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2010

4:40 pm
Good morning - or afternoon!
One of the adults was having a meal - and it looks as if there might be a hole and some cracking in one of the eggs!

4:58 pm
Adult incubating the eggs.
She keeps shifting her weight from side to side as if trying to get comfortable.


5:07 pm
Up to fix the bowl. Not sure if there's a crack in the egg or if her leg feathers were in the way.


5:09 pm
She had settled down on the egg for a moment then was up again.
She seems very unsettled.

It's amazing to see how much greenery they have on this nest.

MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010

Two s'caps of 7,30, the calm one with the coolness in the morning

2:41 pm
She is panting a bit in the heat!!
Mum is displaying her snowy white back - usually coverd by the wings!