Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:41 am
Posts: 12730
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 Hello DEF, it's great to see you here! They ID the eagles from the multiple cam captures and videos that are taken by the mods ... most of which we never see ... looking for particular IDing traits such as the shape of the nares, position of flecks in the eyes, opposing color patterns of the feathers that meet, does it form a "U" or a "V" and any other particular trait of their body that can set them apart from other eagles including behaviors and voice. When they put this all together there is an ID of the eagle which is not as obvious an ID that a band gives you, but the best for the circumstances. They have never indicated they are 100%, especially with the ID of Samson. They are just IDing the eagles to the best of their abilities with the info they have.
They ID Samson from one of his talons that has a flattened appearance that is quite obvious when screen captured. Supposedly, Juliet stepped on it when he was still very young in the nest. There is a capture of the incident. When "Samson" returned one of the mods remembered this and they made the ID in this manner, however they have always maintained that this is NOT 100%. I was following the year Samson and Delilah hatched on the nest and off the top of my head, could not remember the incident. When they made this possible ID, I went back through at least a part of that season in our archives, but could not find a definitive capture of a flattened talon after the supposed incident. Would love to see a flattened appearance of that talon before he dispersed that season. I was always bothered that Juliet stepping on his talon could cause an injury such as this. To me was this from injury or did he just hatch this way keeping in mind if this is actually Samson or a different eagle. But, there is no going back as this eagle will be "Samson" forever more.
How do we know Harriet is Harriet or Ozzie was Ozzie or Pa Berry is actually Pa Berry (Ma Berry we can obviously tell)? The following is from a mod here with some screen capture portraits they have of some of the players on this nest. If you click on the individual capture it will enlarge to show some of the differences that I mentioned above. Of course they have many, many more captures than we do to draw from and they are of all of the players and visitors that they have been aware of visiting or being a part of this nest.
From a post yesterday:
sharipf_AEF The eagle yesterday was definitely not Romeo - the nares were different; it did not have as many flecks in the iris as Romeo has and the tail was pure white - Romeo has a dark streak on one side of his tail. This eagle also appeared larger so we are thinking it might have been a female.
sharipf_AEF This might help!
2019 Copyright American Eagle Foundation, EAGLES.ORG
EDIT TO ADD: And of course the fun has started as a female has been on the nest with Samson this morning. He left earlier, but she just left within the last 15 minutes as of 9:30. He did not rebuff her, so his behavior indicates she is known to him! Unfortunately for me, they do not believe this is A2 ...
sharipf_AEF We're comparing several pics from last season - we don't really think this is A2 - she had a distinctly inverted U in the neckline of her feathers - this eagle has a fairly even neckline. Also this eagle was/is way too quiet! And doesn't seem as large as A2. But we are going over pics very carefully! This could be a new female that he met up with this summer!
A video of the 2 together this morning from scyllabub:
"One calls, another arrives, they look bonded ~ ©AEF, NE Florida Eagles" 
2019 American Eagle Foundation, EAGLES.ORG
EDIT TO ADD at 10:05: From AEF Mods and Admin on cam page:
Sep 7, 5:48 AM
jd_AEF (Moderator): We have two eagles, apparently liking each other, in the nest. One arrived 6:24, we had vocals, and another arrived right behind, clearly Samson.
Sep 7, 7:54 AM
gretchen_AEF (Admin): The other eagle is not Romeo or Juliet but appears female as she is noticeably larger than Samson. They appeared quite peaceful together and even snuggled some. . CORRECTION: It appears the female brought a fish in within 2 mintues after she flew. She is currently perched at the nest tree. Apologies for the confusion. The female doesn't appear to be A2, but we are carefully comparing past and recent photos.
Sep 7, 7:55 AM
leigh_AEF (Moderator): Good morning everyone! We have the female eagle perched on cam 2.
Sep 7, 8:25 AM
leigh_AEF (Moderator): The female eagle flew at 9:22.
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This is a screen capture by Rambler of the grounds of the Hamlet below the nest tree after the passing of Dorian last eve:
So far this morning, only a hawk has been noted in the hamlet. In the past, the latest Juliet arrived to the nest was 9/16 and Romeo 9/4. Here is the timeline of this nest from the NEFL website by Gretchen:
So nice to see that Samson has found a belle. She went straight to the nest this morning followed by him. I doubt Mom & Dad will show up at this point. They are usually already in the area by now. I hope things stay peaceful here.
Samson was just in the nest and has hopped to a branch! That may be Gretchen or other crew in the parking lot. Just got her camera out of the car, so maybe photos for us later. He hopped to a different branch at 7:57 and can be seen on Cam 2 now. And another hop. I am hoping he spends the night. So far, the female has not joined him.
