For the second year in a row, a nesting pair of bald eagles has successfully raised a chick that has fledged. The bald eagle family featured in these pictures resides east of Le Roy along a creek.
There are an estimated five nesting pairs of bald eagles in Genesee County. Two nesting pairs make Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge their home.
This year we were able to find out some information on the male eagle of the pair outside Le Roy. "Ed," as he has come to be known, was born 45 miles away in Allegany County in April of 2010.
I was able to get a couple pictures of the bands on his ankles. The blue band is from NYS and was put on him when, now retired, Department of Environmental Conservation eagle biologist Pete Nye tagged him and a sibling in the nest. If you look carefully at the blue band you can see it is hand engraved with the code ED. That code is entered in Pete’s notes with the information about the nest he was found in.
This year the pair settled into the nest in March. Eagles do mate for life and frequently use the same nest every year.
The male eagle usually never returns to the nest with out food or materials for the nest. The eaglet is about a week old in this picture.
When Ed does return empty-handed, it appears to be frowned upon by his mate. Female bald eagles, as well as most female raptors, are bigger than the males.
Feeding an eaglet growing that quickly is a full-time job. Fish seem to be the staple with an occasional rabbit. This year they managed to get a fawn into the nest. Look closely and you can see the hoofs. This fawn may have been a stillborn. Eagles are well known for hunting live prey but do scavenge for food as well.
This is the eaglet at about 8 weeks old waiting for breakfast.
