Santa Cruz Island, California - Bald Eagle Cam

Pelican Harbor Nest Cam

http://www.iws.org/bald_eagles/nestcam.htm
direct link to the cam: http://media1.vcoe.org/eaglecam1

There is currently only one cam on Santa Cruz, at Pelican Harbor (the nest was originally known as Santa Cruz, but is now being called Pelican Harbor with the expectation that there will be more nests on the island in the next year or two). It is a streaming camera with sound, and is generally on during daylight hours, as it relies on solar power.

The parents were both hatched in the San Francisco Zoo (male K10 in 2001 and female K26 in 2002) and then fostered into nests on Catalina Island (K10 in the Twin Rocks Nest and K26 in the West End Nest). K26 laid two eggs in 2006, 2007 and 2008, one of which hatched the first two years and both of which hatched in 2008. Their first chick was the female A49, known as Cruz. Cruz was the first eagle chick to hatch in the wild on the Channel Islands since 1949. She spent a lot of time on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa (another of the northern Channel Islands) in 2008 - you can follow her travels here. She lost her transmitter in 2009 (they're expected to last about 3 years) - but was spotted on Santa Cruz in January 2010, a handsome 4-year-old, coming into her adult plumage. The 2007 chick A63 was a male named Limuw, which is the Chumash name for Santa Cruz Island. Limuw died about 7 weeks after fledging; he was found by the side of the road in Nevada, probably hit by a car while scavenging roadkill. The 2008 chicks were both males, A-65 Skye and A-64 Spirit; they were knocked out of their nest by a juvie when they were 6 weeks old, rescued by an IWS team, taken to the mainland for treatment (Skye for a broken wing and Spirit for a hole in his beak), and returned separately to Santa Cruz to be released from the hacking tower there. Skye died about 3 weeks after fledging when he got caught in a kelp bed and drowned; as of the end of October 2009, Spirit was still on Santa Cruz and doing well. The pair also had two eggs in 2009; both hatched, but the chicks died shortly after hatching from unknown causes. K10 and K26 are a strong young pair, so we're hoping this year will be better.

Eaglets hatched or released on Santa Cruz or the other northern Channel Islands are assigned blue wing tags with the letter A; adults K10 and K 26 have orange tags with the letter K because they were raised on Catalina Island.

Based on past experience, look for eggs in the first half of March, chicks in mid-April, and fledging in late June or early July.

2009-2010 Season:

• adults return: both seen November 15
  
• eggs laid: February 25, 5:36 pm; February 28, 5:52 pm
  
• hatched: seen April 3, 7:34 am (37 days); April 5, 11:19 am (36 days)
  
• banded: May 27 - A69 and A68 (both male)
  
• fledged: June 22, 5:46 pm (80 days) June 28 10:05am (84 days)
  
• first return to nest: June 23, 11:11 am ~18 hours)
  

Information from the Institute for Wildlife Studies;
April 26 2010 screen cap by Debs

Link to last year's thread for this nest

PH to our new perch!

Scap from yesterday Jan 16 2010


The nest is wet and it is raining there and rain is in the forcast for next few days. There are definitely some new branches in the nest tonight!!


For those of you new to this nest here is a collage of this beautiful couple; one of several from Jan 3 2010 :love: enjoy!

Debs thanks for being the eyes of this nest!

Hey Debs, :grin:

How very thoughtful of you to welcome PH to our New Forum. Always lots of smiles and fun on the threads when you are posting.

"Special Weather Statement
Statement as of 5:36 AM PST on January 18, 2010


... Strong thunderstorms are possible across southwestern California
this afternoon into tonight...

A powerful frontal system will sweep through southwestern California
this afternoon and evening... bringing heavy rain and scattered
thunderstorms. Even after the front moves through the region this
evening... very moist and unstable air will linger... maintaining a
threat of thunderstorms through at least midnight and possibly
through the night.

Some of the thunderstorms may produce small hail... wind gusts over
50 mph and torrential downpours. Atmospheric conditions will be
favorable for isolated weak tornadoes which could either form over
land or move ashore after forming as waterspouts.

Residents of southwestern California are urged to stay tuned for the
latest information on the potential for strong thunderstorms.
Listen to NOAA Weather Radio or your favorite media source... or
visit our website at weather.Gov/losangeles for the latest updates
of forecasts and warnings.


Bruno/asr"

It's really coming down; you can hear and see the hail. Birds not happy.

More snarky weather today. :dry:

Jan 23 2010

Hi Cal thanks for the updates; weather was very nasty for west coast!

Weather is much improved today

Hi Soph you are very welcome I wuv this nest; last year was a heart breaker for us so talons crossed that this year is more successful for them!

Have had the cam up since dawn and no visits from Ma or Pa yet.

View of the nest; can see a few more branches in the bowl; either from Ma or Pa themselves or perhaps a gift from Mother Nature