Wiig Nest (Brigantine)

[boonibarb]

A place to post fotos & information to do with Wiig nest Brigantine.

Doug*s map of all the Hornby nests is here.



Wiig nest is not on Doug*s map, i think?
But if it is, it is probably #11 or #12?

[boonibarb]

i don*t think there have ever been any eaglets on this nest?
But this year i have noticed adults on the nest & in the nest tree on a few occasions.
On one of these occasions, all the nests, including the webcam nest, nest #9, & Brigantine Nest all had adults perched on the nest trees or on the nests themselves.
i think there were other eagles flying over the areas that day, & the parents were closely guarding their nests.
The day before was when Doug spotted the herring ball that had 27 eagles diving at it.
For the first time i saw an adult perched on the Wiig nest & trilling at the eagles flying over head.
This lead me to thinking that maybe this nest was being used this year!

When i biked by with Dooki this morning, i could hear an eaglet on the Brigantine nest, & i thought i could see the sillouette of one against the sky.
When i passed by Wiig nest, i was sure i could see an eaglet silouette in it as well!
But i wasn*t sure if it wasn*t just a trick of the light, as i didn*t have my camera with me.

On my way back, i stopped to talk to Doug, & he brought up the topic of this nest!
He has spotted an eaglet here with his telescope!
i must return another day with my camera to this nest!  

[boonibarb]

This is a foto i took last year of The Nomad*s Nest, #11.
Talking to Doug, i*m not sure this actually IS the Nomad*s Nest.
But this is the nest that Doug says has an eaglet in it this year.
i*ll be keeping my eye on it with my camera.
i*m calling it the Wiig Nest Brigantine for now.

The Nomads Nest #11 - May 9, 2009, 10:13:52 AM

[winterwren]

The Wiig Nest eaglet has flown the coop! 

I went for my favourite circuit of the various perch trees along Harwood Road, looking for Mom and Dad Hornby... no sightings there. But since I had a few minutes to spare, I biked over to the Wiig nest, to try for a peek at that elusive eaglet.

The nest had that strange bereft look that I'm trying to get used to... Nobody home. Then I heard a loud screep, well to the left of it!

What a tantalizing situation... I'm deep in the sticks, with two parcels of private land, whose owners I've never met, between me and that eaglet. I sneaked through the bush for just a little bit, trying to get a view... no luck.
Then I was surrounded by a landscape of sound. Two adults, then a third - possibly Mom or Dad Hornby by the sound of it. All swirling ahead and overhead, calling, out of view. And that eaglet teakettling in rising full-boil tones all the while. Moving from tree to tree, closer, farther... Similar to Phoenix's sounds, but louder and more insistent - very different from the distinct musical notes of nest #9 and the Heron Rocks eaglet.

What a nice contrast to the silent treatment I received at the other locations I've been checking lately! 
Wren

[Tigerlady105]

This searching for nests and watching for eagles could become a full-time job!   

[Tigerlady105]

You can read about the Nest Brigantine pre-fledge eaglet that was rescued on Monday, July 26, by going to the other Nest Brigantine thread.

[boonibarb]

On sunday late afternoon i took Dooki for a swim at Hidden Bay.
Right away i noticed an adult flying away from Sandstone Point & heading waaaayyyyyy out over the water towards Texada Island.
i lost track of them, they flew so far away.
When i looked back at Sandstone Point, i noticed an adult perched in what i believe Doug calls the Flat Top Tree.
It is the tallest tree on the tip of Sandstone Point.
Then i saw the adult return from way out on the water.
i was hoping they had food for the eaglet!
But they just landed, lower down & farther out on the same tree as the perched adult was in.
Not long afterwards, i heard screeping!
Flopping into view came a huge dark bird, the eaglet!!!  
They screeped all the way to their landing spot in the same tree.
i think they were hoping the adult had brought them food too!
i kept hearing the eaglet calling, after that.
A different call than the screep they make when they are flying.

[boonibarb]

Yesterday, july 28, i biked the webcam Nest Tree neighbourhood, for the first time in a while.
As we were biking by the Nest Tree, i heard calling that wasn*t the sound of an adult!
It was distant, coming from the direction of Sandstone Point.
The eaglet of Wiig Nest!
typos & sparkie have reported on chat & in the hotspots that they are hearing an eaglet.
i believe it is the Wiig Nest eaglet.
It is also possible that it is the Nest #9, remaining eaglet.
But more likely, it is the Wiig Nest eaglet.

[sparkie]

Thank  you  boonie . I think  you  are correct  . Typos  and  I  have  been  perplexed  hearing the  screep of  ealget  and  it  direction  . I  am  ssssooooo  glad you  made  this  discovery  .

[winterwren]

I've been keeping an eye on the Wiig nest every time I go check on the Brigantine eaglet, which is quite a lot these days. I bike right past the Wiig nest when I head out to the Brigantine nest. The Wiig eaglet (or Wiiglet for short... ) has been returning to the nest once in a while, and flying around the treetops the rest of the time. It has been looking healthy and strong.

This afternoon, from my house, I suddenly heard a screep, quite nearby! I could hear it from inside the house! I ran outside with binoculars. I saw 2 adult eagles, and with them an eaglet, who was screeping almost constantly. They were way up in the air... the little one learning to glide on the thermals - "look, mom, no hands! Uh, I mean..."

They were so high up, I thought they might be heard from the cam too... Then I watched the eaglet disappear towards the east, which means it was probably the Wiiglet. That one has been flying for much longer than the other neighbourhood eagles (#9 and Brigantine). I checked onto the cam, just in time to see shadows from a fly-by. A few minutes later we heard screeps in the distance.

[Tigerlady105]

Winterwren, thanks for the Flight School report!!!  Must be fun to watch the parents and young one way up there, teaching and learning about things eagles do.      

[boonibarb]

Today was hot, hot, hot, so i took Dooki for a swim at Hidden Beach.
My eyes went straight to Sandstone Point after not seeing anybody in the Peters*s Tree.
i saw two white adult heads, & i could hear the wiiglet calling out intermittently.
So, they are all still here.

[winterwren]

Still catching up on postings...

It appears that I may have the only existing photo of the elusive Wiiglet. It's a bit out of focus, but it's the clearest one I have, so it will have to do.

This eaglet stayed invisible to us for the longest time... then Booni figured out that the nest was occupied because she heard screeps! For the next few weeks we 'observed' this eaglet by sound only.
Then, on the day of Joyofdogs and Dancinglady's visit, Wiiglet politely showed up, right on cue, and settled himself on top of the nest tree! This is when I hastily snapped this picture.
Wiiglet on nest tree, August 6 2010


Here's a picture of the Wiig nest I took the same day... the tree seems bushier this year somehow. Compare this with Booni's picture of last year (July 2 2010 posting on this thread). Notice how much deeper the nest cup is now! This helps explain why this eaglet remained invisible for so long. Good thing he's so loud!
Wiig nest, August 6 2010

[madrona]

Thanks for sharing Wiiglet with us, wren!  The elusive Wiiglet has a surreptitious look in that photo!  I think s/he's a clever bird - avoiding the paparazzi, even those with HEART!

[Tigerlady105]

How nice to see Wiiglet, finally!  Thanks, Winterwren. It's a good picture for us to enjoy. (And it'll make a very nice puzzle, too!