First, I've not yet received word on the test results for FAE, who passed away roughly 5 weeks ago. I'll post that information when I receive it. Second, it appears that Salt, who apparently had succeeded FAE as KZ's mate within a day of FAE's passing, is no longer in the picture. This is a brief overview of what appears to have occurred. It should be understood that no one is watching the birds 24 hours a day, so you are getting only part of the story. Second, I've been taking record numbers (for me) of photos. Unlike most photographers, who seek dramatic, often action, cover shots, and may quickly toss those that are a bit soft, repetitive, or lifeless, I look at each and every one carefully to see if there is new information there, even if it is a lousy photo. That takes time and I have only now downloaded 2500 photos that I've taken in the past three days. I may well find important new information in several of those photos which will affect my conclusions. With that caveat......, KZ and Salt had copulated soon and fairly frequently since she appeared in the picture. (I am not sure exactly when that was but about the time FAE died at least 3-4 birds in Salt's age set appeared on the scene. I thought Salt was likely 3 years old, turning 4 this month. Ditto for several other birds that looked incredibly similar. There was one bird with a white head and tail that looked as though her torso had been hit by a sawed-off shotgun shell of rock salt. Salt had most of her 'salt" on her underwings, with light sprinkles on her torso. There was a bright, white-headed bird that had a dark, heavily streaked nape. (Salt had light streaking on her crown.) Salt had a significant 5 o'clock shadow on her "sideburns," but especially obvious on her chin. She looked like she needed to shave before dinner. That "shadow" was not obvious when viewed through a camera or scope at 1/3 of mile. She did appear to have ruffled small feathers behind her eyes, with a faint eye stripe that was distinctly different from FAE's appearance. She had only slight smudging on the outside or terminal tips of some of her tail feathers, often discernible only at special angles or light. When I first saw her alone in THE tree, without KZ, I didn't recognize her at first. I might have called her 'Bogey," as her heavy beard reminded me of Bogey, especially in African Queen. Another bird had a bright white head but a tail that looks largely black from above. All three birds were likely 3 YO's (year olds) turning 4, but one or more could have been 4 turning 5. It is virtually impossible to accurately age a bird approaching or in full adult basic plumage that isn't banded. I'm thinking that Netflix and HBO Max should be bidding on this story. KZ and Salt spent time together, but rarely in THE tree. Short periods in the nest, on the 10 o'clock branch or standing in the nest, but they looked like they were in a hotel room, not a home. They did very little work on the nest. I thought it was a frank recognition that they were not going to be laying eggs and hatching eaglets this year. They were dating, but rarely did anything that suggested strong bonding. This may have been KZ's fault more than hers. She spent more time alone at the nest or on the 10 o'clock branch, while he was off somewhere usually to the northeast, and not on the lakes. Salt had lots of visitors to the nest. Almost every juvenile or 1 year-old-eagle in the neighborhood went into the nest and perched on perches familiar for KZ and FAE. The "intruders" were "associates" of Salt in her very recent past. She was part of a floating population that hung together, looking for food and playing tail tag much of the day. She was a a kid. In human terms, she might be something akin to a 16-year old female, physiologically old enough to reproduce, but young enough socially that it might take her a year or two before she could actually lay, incubate, and hatch chicks successfully. KZ might be something like a 40-year-old male. Mature (ahem), experienced, at the peak of his "earning power," who owned premier property in an exclusive gated neighborhood. He had a lot to offer this young, inexperienced female. But what did they have in common? What did they talk about during the long perches? What bothered me was that Salt did not maintain any discipline, any protectiveness of the nest. She let teenagers rummage through the nest. Some perched impudently on a main branch for long periods of time. The only time I saw her defend the nest was when a white-bellied (1 YO), started pulling at large branches in the nest, one connected to a very large branch hanging off the side of the nest. It looked as though the kid might actually bring part of the nest down, when Salt darted at the kid and drove it out of the tree. The kid circled the tree and landed on the 10 o'clock branch just a few feet from Salt. KZ was nowhere to be seen. I've been convinced from the beginning that it was highly unlikely any eggs would be laid this year, much less hatched. The nest wasn't "Home" to Salt. It had no special meaning bonding the pair together. It was an address. I was surprised in that I had seen only one clearly full adult in the neighborhood after FAE's passing, and KZ had efficiently escorted that bird south to the river and followed it off the premises. That was likely a male; very similar in size to KZ or a little smaller. I was surprised that apparently there weren't any full adult females in the Boston "floaters pool." I was also amazed that there apparently weren't any adult males in that pool either. I kept waiting to see if an adult male would appear and challenge KZ for the lakes. Six years ago about this time a number of adult males appeared and challenged KZ, who was asserting his ownership of the lakes for the first time. HIs first chick had just hatched and was killed by an intruder. I thought KZ was now quite vulnerable to an aggressive young male intruder. But none appeared, even though KZ spent much less time on the lakes and almost no time in THE tree maintaining his claim to the lakes. He may have been living off his reputation, but more likely he was just lucky. Sunday evening April 12, as dusk approached a vicious fight broke out in the nest. Lots of screaming, and full-size eagles crashing through tree branches. It was getting dark quickly, so we had a tough time seeing into the nest. The only half-way decent photo (not mine), massaged as much as possible, showed three adult-looking birds in the nest. It looked like Salt was perched on the one o'clock branch, and KZ was in the air leaving the nest to charge aggressively towards an adult rounding the tree to the north side of the nest. The head of the intruder looks a bit off-refrigerator white, possibly a bird turning 4. We have no idea of what happened after that. The next morning at dawn there was no sign of a battle, and no resumption of one. Salt was sitting alone in THE tree by the dam. It was a surprisingly quiet morning. When I visited in the afternoon, there was no sign of Salt, but at 2:54 p.m. there was a large adult-looking eagle with a distinct post-ocular eye stripe on its left cheek standing in the nest while KZ was perched on the one o'clock branch. She also had fine streaking on her rear crown, almost like a skull cap. Tuesday was quiet too. KZ was alone on the 10 o'clock branch at the nest just before sunrise. At 6:30 a.m. he was perched on the southwest spruce (The big spruce on the point near Mill Brook Cove). Perched above him, on the top of the spruce, was a larger, bright white-headed bird with a distinct post-ocular Osprey-like eye stripe. Stripe. About 7:11, she flew over me, revealing whitish patches on her underwings. Much less than on Salt, and very few on her wing linings. There were small dark smudges dorsally on the tips of her tail feathers, which appeared clean white ventrally. There was a "rough" trailing edge to her wings which I've come to recognize as typical of birds in their first adult-like plumage. (Not the serrated trailing edge of juveniles, or the distinctly uneven edge of 1-year-olds, but also not the smooth sculpted edge of trailing edge feathers of a full adult like KZ. The feathers look as though they were hand-inserted by a disinterested person.) Stripe landed in the tall cottonwood on the eastern point, next to a one-year old. Dark post-ocular eye stripe on the left side of her face. Stripe. She then flew to the nest and landed on the 10 o'clock branch. No bands visible. She then moved up to the 1 o'clock branch where it looked as though her tail tips were dusky ventrally. Her upper tail coverts were spotted white; big white polka dots. In the afternoon she perched on the 1 o'clock and 10 o'clock branches, again showing dark tips to some of her tail feathers ventrally. I emphasize the subtle distinctions because Stripe appears to have "an evil twin." That is a joke harking back to typical soap opera plots, but there is a very similar-looking large eagle with a bright white head but a larger, thicker, darker, post-ocular eye stripe. Stripe "squared." This bird has a mottled tail with bright white mixed with sharp black smudges, and a semblance of a dark subterminal tail band dorsally. The really heavy eye-stripe and the tail are the only features I've discerned that distinguish these two very similar-looking birds. (And I've not seen Stripe squared with KZ.) In summary, everything is very different this year. The nest is no longer sacred because eggs will not be laid there. The eagles standing in that nest haven't really bonded and might never. KZ had a 5-week fling with Salt, and apparently copulated with another bird shortly after FAE's death. The routines aren't the same. The schedules aren't the same. For photographers, the territorial pair rarely perches on THE Tree near the dam anymore, and there aren't nest exchanges. Did Salt leave of her own volition or was she "kicked out" by KZ? Will KZ bond with Stripe? Will a yet unseen young adult male eagle challenge KZ for ownership of the Mystic Lakes? (I think he is very vulnerable right now.) With all the memories of FAE, and a new prospective mate, will KZ continue to use the old nest or will he seek to build a new nest with his prospective mate somewhere else? Maybe off-lake? What can really establish a bond between him and a 4 year old? Will 4 year-olds continue hanging around waiting for an opportunity to move up? A lot of questions and few answers. What we know for sure is that things just aren't going to be the same.... I miss FAE. I think KZ does too. But the objective of an eagle's life is to continue the species.... This weekend I will post several definitive photos of the new players on my Flickr site. I'll post that link when I get those photos up. Best, Paul Paul M. Roberts Medford, MA <phawk254...>
