Libby Dam, Montana - Bald Eagle Cam

US Army Corps of Engineers Libby Dam Eagle Cam site
Direct link to cam >> http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/publicmenu/DOCUMENTS/libby/eaglecam_refresh.html
The camera has still shots updating every 10 seconds.

Libby Dam is located on the on the Kootenai River in northwestern Montana. The nest, also known as the Souse Gulch Eagle Nest, was established in 1996, with the first eggs in 1997. Since then, the pair has fledged 19 eaglets, including two in 2007.

Based on past experience, look for eggs in mid to late March, chicks in late April, and fledging in mid July.

2007-2008 Season:

• eggs laid: the cam web site reported an egg was seen March 19
• hatched: approximately April 25 and 27
• fledged: hard to tell from camera angle, but around July 15 (81 days - 11.5 weeks) and July 20 (84 days - 12 weeks)
• last seen: both seen August 13 (15.5 weeks), one seen August 27 (17.5 weeks)

(Information and 2007 screen cap of fledging from US Army Corps of Engineers Libby Dam Eagle Cam site)

There are now two little eaglets!



If I stumble across an amazing amount of interest, I'll continue to post here. Otherwise, I'll just do weekly updates on my website.

Haven't checked in for a while - little ones look as if they're doing well. Not sure when exactly they hatched, but I think they're around 3-1/2 weeks old at this point.

Here are a couple of pictures from today. I've sent an e-mail to the website to see if they know when the eaglets actually hatched - but for now, all I know is that there were two chicks in the nest on April 27, and they were quite small on April 29 when I first looked at the nest - so I'm guessing (on the basis of very limited data) that the eaglets hatched April 25 and 27. If that's actually true, the older one is 5 weeks old today!

You can see a definite difference in feather development (which suggests there might be 3 days between them, not two) - and there are a couple of glimpses of their really big feet!

I've been checking in on them every day.

I'm glad you're looking in on them, Lolly - I don't seem to remember to check this nest as often as I might. They are getting more active, and you can see their feathers are a lot more visible than they were last week!

Here are a few pictures from today - I'm guessing a bit at the age, but I think the older one is about six weeks old today. These chicks are roughly the same age as the pair at Lake Washington, and as the Norfolk eaglet Buddy/Easter.

Haven't checked in on these guys lately - they're getting big! These pictures are from June 20, and the older one is about 8 weeks old!






Note the parent on watch in the tree at the right edge of the first four pictures - I'm guessing that lots of times when we think eaglets this age are "home alone" there's a parent not far away.

Not my normal day to watch these guys, but I took a quick peek and they put on a bit of a show - I know it's partly the perspective of the cam - but what big wings!

This is such a beautiful setting - do wish there was a slightly better camera! These are from June 27, when the older one was about 9 weeks old:

These guys are fun to watch, even if the cam isn't the greatest. They gave me a lot of great shots yesterday, so this will be in two parts. These are from July 4, when the oldest was about 10 weeks old.

Here's part 2 from July 4:

The camera isn't as easy to watch as some - 10 second refresh rather than streaming - but the eaglets are very active today. Link for the camera is in the first post at the top of the page. One eaglet is visible at the right side of the screen, possibly perched on the branch the cam is on - and I think the eagle perched on a branch sticking out past the far side of the nest is the other eaglet! They're about 10-1/2 weeks old now. Pictures tonight with a bit of luck.

They definitely are getting all over the nest now! Here are a few pictures from July 9:

At first glance, I saw the head of the eaglet standing on the right side of the nest, and wondered where the other eaglet was. And then I saw the big foot right in front of the camera!


And just in case I'm missed the clue of the talon, s/he gave me a nice closeup of feathers!


I think the one at the back of the nest was jumping down from a branch in this shot:


And this shows both of them branching - the second one is in the upper left corner of the picture - you can see the tail sticking down below the branch. One of them spent a lot of time up on that branch while I was watching them.


I apparently took the last s'cap at just the right time of day for the blue of the lake to show up!

And here are a few more from July 9, showing them moving about in the nest. While the cam angle made it very hard to see them as tiny chicks, it does give us a good view now.

I've been away for a couple of weeks so haven't been posting pictures. Fortunately, nightengale on the Maine forum has been keeping an eye on this nest, and has some great pictures from the last two weeks starting here!

And here's a fun sequence from this morning.
First, parent arrives with fish. Soon thereafter, an eaglet arrives and mantles. Parent wisely gets out of the way.


Second eaglet arrives and tries to decide what's going on.

(Note that parent has moved to a branch even farther away from any squabbles!)

"I know there's something in there somewhere!"


And a final look at the two of them:


They're about 13-1/2 weeks old now, and have probably been fledged for 1-1/2 or 2 weeks.

Well, the older Libby Dam eaglet is about 14 weeks old today - and I wanted to get some pictures for my "eaglets at 14 weeks old" page. However, I didn't realize that one of these little ones really wanted to have a close-up!





Unfortunately for the little show-off, I probably will use one of nightengale's pictures on the Maine forum which shows both of the fledglings quite well. But if I ever need a picture of the tonsils of a 14-week-old eaglet - I now know where to go!

Those pics are just great

Here's a picture from yesterday, August 13 - they're both still visiting the nest!


Initially the closer chick was blocking my view of the other chick - and I was assuming the eagle perched on the branch to the right was the other chick - but now I think it must be a parent (unless, of course, they invited a friend to stop by! ).

They were in the nest for a while, then one of the chicks left, then the parent left, and the remaining chick perched on the branch for a while and then left. I first noticed them in the nest around 3:05, and the second chick flew off around 3:35, so the visit was about a half hour.

The older chick will be about 16 weeks old tomorrow.

Well, I've had this nest open for a week or so without seeing anything and figured they'd finally left - but it looks to me as if there's an eagle of some sort perched on the branch over towards the right. I haven't seen any white on the head or tail, so I'm guessing it's one of the fledglings. They're about 17-1/2 weeks old now, and have been flying about 6 weeks.





They're not exactly great pictures - but it is time for this little one to start exploring the world, so this may be his or her farewell visit. Safe travels, little one!

He or she was back again this afternoon! Definitely a juvenile. Here are a few pictures!

Great catch of the juvie

The thread for the 2008-2009 nesting season is viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3036