Hi everyone. Normally Dani was writing about the Harpy Eagle monthly, now is my opportunity to keep you in tune with what’s going on with this amazing family of the field and with Elpis.
Elpis, the juvenile harpy eagle is 11 months old, yes, close to one year, I can’t believe how fast the time runs.
Everything starts with the enthusiastic idea of Dani and Mark to involve the harpy eagle in the AmazonCam component of the Wired Amazon program. Trying to find this amazing bird in the wild is a challenge, there are ornithologists, bird watchers, and enthusiastic of the eagles that are trying to find one in the wild for many years. We’re very lucky to have a couple of these eagles nesting close to our jungle lodge Refugio Amazonas, so at that moment the question was, what do we need to make this real? This a unique opportunity in the world!
Well, nothing, just to create the recording and power system 30 meters above the ground and inside the total wild conditions of the rainforest.
The decision gets reality when the eagle was hatching the egg. We were against time, the hatching period takes only two months, could sound a lot of time but having all the components of the HarpyCam on its place was the real challenge. The climbing team was Mark Bowler, Diego Balbuena and me. I've got the chance to make the last climb to finish the electricity details on the 22nd of June and I realize one of the most amazing scenes of my life.
Harpy eagle chick one month old
When I get into the crown of the Shihuahuaco Tree were we have the camera I turn to take a look of the nest and I saw the mom sited on the edge of the nest looking inside. I saw a cotton ball moving and two pieces of eggshell. The small size of that chick, the way the mom look its newborn, the perfect timing to be there recording since the first day of Elpis, everything was amazing. I think that is going to be impossible to find again an experience like that in the wild. This set the fence very high. Know, eleven-month after, the picture of the first day of Elpis keep in my mind.
On December 4th of 2017, I went to the mammal clay lick to turn on the recording system, was 5:45 am. I found the local guide Boris Guerra with a group of guests looking through a telescope on the direction of the harpy eagle nest. I ran close to them and I saw from the ground the chick on the mom’s favorite perching fork, 5 meters above the nest. Wow, this chick flies with 5 months and a week, normally they fly outside the nest between 6 and 7 months. Another remarkable experience with Elpis, have the opportunity of being there during the first day of the fly.
The juvenile harpy eagle, Elpis, which gets the new ability to fly starts discovering the surroundings of the nest, flying between the trees, facing different animals different landscapes. At his point, Elpis knows how to fly perfectly, how to eat on its own, which could be dangerous, and with ones are best source of food. Know close to one year is practicing how to hunt on its own, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.
Their parents still coming back to the nest bringing food but once every two weeks.
99% of the time we have in our recordings an empty nest, we are very excited about what would happen next, when the couple will lay a new egg? Will they use the same nest? Or this new juvenile harpy eagle, Elpis, will become the new owner of the nest? Which will be the new territory for the eagle now?
By Juan Diego Shoobridge
A native from Lima, Juan Diego graduated as a biologist with an ecology major from Cayetano Heredia University. His thesis research focused on tropical botany, specifically on factors that affected Brazil nut production within the Refugio Amazonas Brazil nut concession. He has been part of the Rainforest Expeditions team for the many years, participating in various projects, which include leading the orchid propagation initiative and as part of the Wired Amazon´s research team.
