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By: Debs (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 01:45 PM EDT (Read 453822 times)
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Debs |
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NCTC Shepherdstown, West Virginia - Bald Eagle Family
Belle and Liberty's Family History
Outlined below is a brief tribute to this remarkable and loving couple; Belle and Liberty 
In 2002 beautiful Belle and Liberty took up residence and began nesting near the Potomac River. As a devoted and loving couple they successfully raised and fledged many off spring since then and they shared ten wonderful years together!
Liberty and Belle built their nest late in 2003.On Valentine's Day, February 14, 2004 Belle laid her very first egg. Belle and Liberty successfully raised and fledged two juvies in 2004, one in 2005 and triplets in 2006. In 2007 Belle and Liberty had three eggs but none survived the spring storms. In 2008 Belle and Liberty successfully raised and fledged triplets. In 2009 Belle laid three eggs but only one egg hatched and that chick successfully fledged. In 2010 Belle laid four eggs again during some horrific spring storms with record snow falls for the area. As a result of the storms only one egg survived the spring storms. The surviving egg hatched on March 21 and this beautiful gift was promptly nicknamed Spring. Belle and Liberty had another successful season and Spring successfully fledged on June 14 2010.
The 2011 season started out like all other seasons very normal; Belle and Liberty spent time working together often side by side to prepare the nest and make ready for the nesting season. In February Belle laid two eggs, one on Feb 5 and the other egg on Feb 9, and everything seemed to be on course for this beautiful family. On March 17 one of the eggs hatched and the new chick was active, healthy and strong and we quickly nicknamed her Lil Paddy! Unfortunately, a day before the hatch Liberty, Belle's devoted partner, suddenly disappeared ....leaving Belle to care for the new chick herself.
During this critical time frame, a young male intruder arrived in Belle and Liberty's territory and started to threaten Belle and her new chick by perching in the attic and even landing in the nest. This intruder's threatening behavior caused Belle to remain close to the nest to protect her baby Lil Paddy and the remaining egg. At times we observed Belle offering her beak to Lil Paddy, which Lil Paddy readily accepted. The beak to beak exchanges continued and by all appearances these exchanges really modelled a feeding pattern but there was never any food exchanged between Belle and Lil Paddy as no food was ever delivered to the nest. Belle was not able to leave the nest area long enough to hunt and fish to provide for Lil Paddy because the male intruder continued to threaten the family and unfortunately the Lil Paddy died. Ironically, Belle was able to leave the nest briefly on day four and returned to the nest with a fish just moments after Lil Paddy died. It was a heartbreaking turn of events for this family. Liberty, the long term mate of Belle, was never seen again. Weeks later a body of an adult bald eagle was discovered on the grounds, which may have been the resident male Liberty. As time went by and given the long absence of Liberty, the young male continued to visit the nest and no matter how rude Belle was to him he persisted and finally Belle accepted the young smitten male, nicknamed Smitty, as her new mate...will this trend continue stay tuned!
A detailed summary of these events can be found here:
forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=165694&topic=165694#165694
A live streaming cam for observing this family can be accessed by clicking on this link below:
http://outdoorchannel.com/Conservation/EagleCam.aspx
A secondary still cam that refreshes every 30 seconds and is on 24 hours a day is also available click on link below:
http://www.fws.gov/nctc/cam/stillimage.html
2011-2012 Season:
Note: Our fledge dates vary slightly from the official update posted on the NCTC web site, they have the fledge dates listed as June 1 & June 4 2012 http://outdoorchannel.com/Conservation/ ... s2012.aspx
Screen captures of Belle and Liberty 
Belle and Liberty sharing one of their famous 'niparoos' - January 22 2011

Liberty chants at Belle - January 14 2011

Belle and Liberty - Exchanging a Loving Look - January 5 2011

(Information from the National Conservation Training Center)
Link to last year's thread for this nest
May you enjoy all of the simple "pleasures or gifts" that surround you.
Let your spirit soar!
To light a Candle for a loved one or friend right click on the link that follows and copy to your browser
http://light-candle.com/collections/view/33353/success
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By: Debs (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 01:46 PM EDT
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Debs |
Debs |
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May you enjoy all of the simple "pleasures or gifts" that surround you.
Let your spirit soar!
To light a Candle for a loved one or friend right click on the link that follows and copy to your browser
http://light-candle.com/collections/view/33353/success
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 Status: offline
Registered: 03/02/08 Posts: 35490
North Pole
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By: Debs (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 01:46 PM EDT
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Debs |
Debs |
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May you enjoy all of the simple "pleasures or gifts" that surround you.
Let your spirit soar!
To light a Candle for a loved one or friend right click on the link that follows and copy to your browser
http://light-candle.com/collections/view/33353/success
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 Status: offline
Registered: 03/02/08 Posts: 35490
North Pole
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By: Debs (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 01:47 PM EDT
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Debs |
Debs |
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May you enjoy all of the simple "pleasures or gifts" that surround you.
Let your spirit soar!
To light a Candle for a loved one or friend right click on the link that follows and copy to your browser
http://light-candle.com/collections/view/33353/success
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 Status: offline
Registered: 03/02/08 Posts: 35490
North Pole
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By: Debs (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 01:47 PM EDT
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Debs |
Debs |
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May you enjoy all of the simple "pleasures or gifts" that surround you.
Let your spirit soar!
To light a Candle for a loved one or friend right click on the link that follows and copy to your browser
http://light-candle.com/collections/view/33353/success
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 Status: offline
Registered: 03/02/08 Posts: 35490
North Pole
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By: Debs (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 02:52 PM EDT
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Debs |
Debs |
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May you enjoy all of the simple "pleasures or gifts" that surround you.
Let your spirit soar!
To light a Candle for a loved one or friend right click on the link that follows and copy to your browser
http://light-candle.com/collections/view/33353/success
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 Status: offline
Registered: 03/02/08 Posts: 35490
North Pole
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By: IrishEyes (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 04:04 PM EDT
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IrishEyes |
IrishEyes |
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Thanks Debs.. I too am looking forward to this season...
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Registered: 08/04/09 Posts: 142875
Nova Scotia,Canada.
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By: Woodlands Bleu (offline) on Wednesday, September 14 2011 @ 04:41 PM EDT
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Woodlands Bleu |
Woodlands Bleu |
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Hi Friends!
Shiny brand new season to start. That is a delight. I just wanted to leave a happy welcome to new season and new hopes note.
smiles,
carolyn
Choose joy.......
Since Sept 2009.
carolyn
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Registered: 01/11/10 Posts: 24990
The Woodlands, TX
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