EagleCam watchers were sad last week, when they thought they’d seen the last of the eaglet Carolina. But she reappeared in the hack tower on Thursday for a snack and has been seen off and on for the past few days. This return to the nest is normal for the process of fledging and she could be around for a few weeks more.

You will notice that CRC staff closed one of the gates on Saturday in preparation for two orphaned eaglets who will take up residence, probably sometime this week. Carolina has a new feeding platform out to the side and feeders will continue to bring her food as long as she continues to return. The other gate will be closed when the eaglets are installed in the tower, in all likelihood today or tomorrow.

The two orphaned eaglets are about a week apart in age so should be fine together in the hack tower. EagleCam watchers may remember two orphans that were “hacked” last year with the 2011 eaglet “Kinsey.” The three eaglets bonded, and all watched until they flew away about a week or two apart.

The eaglet “Carolina” on Saturday, May 12, at feeding time.

Carolina took her first flight last week on Thursday, May 10 in the morning. She did not return until about 2 pm.

According to Stahlmaster*, fledging can be a critical moment for the eaglet, as they are very awkward in flight. This fact was confirmed by footage of Carolina leaving the tower for the first time. However, it was good news that she returned to the tower later in the afternoon.

http://www.wcnc.com/video/raw/Eagles-flies-out-of-hack-tower—150965505.html

For the next few days she was seen flapping and taking short flights out of the hack tower.

EagleCam observers have not seen Carolina since early Sunday, May 13, and feeders have found food untouched in the hack tower since then. It appears that Carolina has left the area, but feeders will continue to visit the tower for the next few days to confirm this news.

*The Bald Eagle, Mark V. Stalmaster, Universe Books, copyright 1987, page 78.

Carolina Eaglet will be about nine and a half weeks when CRC staff open the hack tower doors on Thursday, March 3, 2012 before dawn. The accepted practice is to open the doors before dawn so that the bird can get used to the openness as the sun comes up. Last year, Kinsey Eaglet was hacked with two other orphaned birds that were slightly older than she was and they remained in the tower (moving in and out) for about a week before flying away. Kinsey stayed another two or three weeks, taking advantage of daily feedings until she finally flew away on or around June 8, 2011.

Not much flapping has been observed in the hack tower yet this season, but we expect that the activity will increase over the next few days. Staff is observing the eaglet via the WCNC hack tower cam on the website at http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/eagle-cam.

Here is a great photo of “Carolina” from Sunday, April 29. She is growing fast and will begin flapping hard to build up those flight muscles.

When the 2012 eaglet was transferred to the hack tower last week, a physical exam was performed. Upon examination, the eaglet appeared to have normal body shape and size for an eagle of that age. Flight feathers had just started to grow in and were noted to be “very short.” Rapid growth of these feathers is expected over the next weeks.

Blood was taken and sent to Zoogen to determine the bird’s gender. There is no other way to determine the gender. The gender of the bird will be annouced along with the name on the Facebook page. The white blood cell count was high, but within normal range for a bird of this age. The bird weighed 3650 grams or about eight pounds.

Overall the bird was deemed healthy, active and normal.

To follow daily feedings, you can log in to CRC’s medical record site http://raptormed.carolinaraptorcenter.org. The medical record number of the eaglet is 15810.

Today, Carolina Raptor Center staff moved the 2012 eaglet out to the hack tower. A WCNC photographer Jodi Winterton was along for the ride. Here are some of her photos

Mathias Engelmann, senior rehabilitation coordinator, and volunteer Connie Thompson, get baby eaglet ready to go in the eagle aviary at Carolina Raptor Center.

The recovery of the Bald Eagle in the United States is one of the great wildlife conservation success stories of our time. Populations in the lower 48 states were as low as 450 nesting pairs in the 1960s when they were identified as an endangered species because of dramatic population declines associated with pesticide poisoning, especially from DDT and DDE. Populations began to recover after these pesticides were banned in 1972, and the birds and their nesting habitats were given greater protection under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Restoring the Bald Eagle required the dedicated efforts of State, Federal, and private conservation organizations over the next 30 years. Bald Eagles were down-listed to Threatened in 1995. They were removed from the Endangered Species list in 2007. Today populations have grown to an estimated 9,789 nesting pairs. Populations in North Carolina have increased from a single breeding pair in 1984 to over 70 breeding pairs in 2005.

NCSU’s eagle project at Jordan Lake - http://www.basic.ncsu.edu/eaglecam/