Black Eagles Return to Nesting Ground after Years to Make Babies
A few weeks ago, a famous breeding pair of Verreaux's eagles (known as black eagles) was seen near a nesting site that they once used years ago at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in the province of Gauteng in South Africa.
The Return of The Famous Verreaux's Eagles
Black eagles typically nest between the months of April and July. When using a site for the first time, the pair of eagles will work together to build a nest on a rocky outcrop. They build it sturdy, as the eagles tend to reuse their nests. There could have been several reasons why the pair stopped using this particular site. But that was now in the past, and hope was high when the community noticed how active the eagles were in the vicinity.
Content taken by Andrew Keys
Content taken by Andrew Keys
How Nesting and Egg Laying Process Works
Verreaux's eagles incubate their eggs over a period of forty-five days. This is then followed by a fledgling period that can last an additional hundred days. It is a fascinating process that not many people have the privilege to watch. This is why the birding community of the botanical gardens was so ecstatic about the news.
It turns out, the excitement was all for good reason. The eagles did end up settling down at the nest site. The building process happened quickly, and before anyone knew it, it was time to start monitoring eggs.
Eagle Egg Monitoring Is a Thing
Yes, you read that correctly. This is such a special event that people dedicate time to monitor eggs through the entire incubation process. Egg monitoring begins after a certain amount of "eagle bonding", of course.
Looks like this goose wanted in on the eagle bonding action!
Content by Naomi Corinaldi
Content by Naomi Corinaldi
So Far So Good
And the news has only gotten more exciting! The black eagles, known as Makatsa and Mahlori, are believed to be caring for an egg. A post from the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans on Facebook broke the very exciting news.
Verreaux’s eagles only ever lay a maximum of two eggs at a time. So even though there is only the one confirmed egg so far (unlikely, but another may possibly be out of sight), this is fantastic news for the community and wildlife lovers.
The Facebook post was written as follows:
“Today, Makatsa and Mahlori spent some time alternating shifts on the nest. Makatsa will spend considerably more time on the Nest than Mahlori, being the mother.”
“All looks normal on the Nest, and we are still expecting the first Egg to hatch in June.”
Content in post by Naomi 'Van Dyk' Corinaldi
