Crowned Eagles
In the past seven years, our Crowned Eagles have produced and
successfully reared five chicks. Last year the chick that hatched on 20
October did not survive beyond its first week. The reasons for its demise
are unknown. Theories that abound include speculations that the
excessive global warming temperatures during the incubating cycle had
something to do with it, or that the eagle pair may now be quite old with
a fertility factor that is no longer viable. Whether, when no one was looking, she actually chased the goose out of
the nest, we do not know. When I photographed the nest from the
southern side, there did appear to be a goose egg stuck in the branches
that are part of its construction. We will continue monitoring the
situation and keep fingers crossed that February will signal the start of
the annual nest refurbishment activities by the eagles that we have
observed for the past seven years.
That meant that we would simply have to wait until the new nest-
building and breeding season started in February of this year to discover
what the future holds. Only then would we have the answer to our
expectations for this rare and threatened species that has been one of
San Lameer's most visible promotions. The four pictures show:
What the juvenile would have looked like by now if it had survived in
October 2019. This is an image I took in March, 2011 of the 2010
juvenile for a comprehensive article on the San Lameer eagles that was
published in the South African Birds and Birding magazine of that year.
Then, in December, a pair of Egyptian Geese settled themselves in the
eagles' nest. They had tried to do so several times in the past but we
were always aware of the invasion and had ejected them very firmly
before they had settled in. This year, however, I was away on an
assignment in the Karoo for a British Travel magazine and by the time I
returned to resume my observation of the eagles, only the head of an
incubating Egyptian Goose was visible in the nest. Where that has
happened in other places like Zimbali, the eagles simply abandoned the
nest and never returned. I contacted Shane McPherson in the hopes that
he could climb the tree and serve eviction orders on the squatters.
Unfortunately, he is doing research in Austria and will be there for the
whole year. His suggestion was that we should wait, let the goose
incubate her eggs over the customary period of 30 days, give her another
30 days to bring the goslings to the point where they will leave the nest
and then hope that the eagles return. The second picture is of the nest, taken on Monday 20 January 2020
at 8am, showing no goose activity and the possible image on an egg
stuck in among the branches on the side of the nest.
Unless one sits at the nest 24/7, one cannot be certain of all the
developments that take place but the sporadic visits I have made have
over the past two weeks have revealed encouraging signs. Yesterday,
Monday 20 January, I could not see any sign of activity in the nest. At
10:30am, I found the female Crowned Eagle sitting on one of her
favourite perches on a tree about 30 meters from the nest. That is a
good sign. She is still in the area and clearly has not forgotten where her
nest is.
The third image is of our female crowned eagle sitting on a branch
and surveying the 17th fairway, which is an area quite popular with
the eagles for catching their favourite prey of dassies and monkeys.
A question frequently asked is: Do Crowned eagles take domestic
pets?” The answer is, “Generally not.” They prefer wild animals.
There have been reports of small dogs and cats either having been
taken or ending up at a vet for stitching of wounds following a failed
attack by a Crowned Eagle. But these events are rare and generally
attributed to juvenile eagles that are still learning to hunt. Research
has shown that domestic pets are not on the eagles' menu of
preferences and that stories about them carting off small children
are merely urban legends of the bizarre.
The fourth image is of a pair of Egyptian Geese. They mate for life,
are extremely aggressive in their territorial claims and challenge
even apex avian predators like Crowned Eagles. One of their most
effective weapons is the loud noises they make which unnerve their
opponents.
Written piece and photographs:
Jacques Sellschop