2015-2016 Nesting Season for Romeo & Juliet
Romeo and Juliet in the nest tree.
Another season has come to a close. Liberty and Justice have grown and flown, and we wish them safe journeys and good health! Our family of Chatters is near and dear to us, and we look forward to gathering again at the nest in the Fall to watch a new nesting season begin.
Highlights From This Season
This slideshow of memories was created by Chatter inawe-o-wings.
Following Romeo and Juliet’s 2015 summer hiatus, the season opener was graced by Romeo returning to the Hamlet on August 31, followed by Juliet arriving on September 4. Within a month they were bonding and busy preparing their nest for their next family. Their eggs were laid on November 16 and 19, with Holiday hatchlings on December 22 and 24. Romeo and Juliet are excellent providers, and the pantry was usually full, with a variety of items on the menu. (a PDF document)
The eaglets were named ‘Liberty’ and ‘Justice’ through a majority vote by members of The American Eagle Foundation. On February 29, Justice briefly hopped to a branch near the nest, with Liberty making the move on March 2. On March 14, Justice branched further out on the nest tree, while Liberty followed suit on March 18. They both took to the skies, fledging on March 19 at 12 weeks of age. They were last seen on April 20th, and we wish them safe journeys as they join others of their kind in the world of Eagles. This makes eight consecutive years Romeo and Juliet have had 100% success raising their families of eaglets.
Memories from Lil Sunrise’s Slideshow!
Special thanks to Rick & Elaine Black and Cindy Trudeau for contributing amazing videos for us to remember special moments from the season. Some selected videos are below, with many others on our 2015-2016 NEFL Video Archive Page.
Enjoying Their New Found Freedom: 3-20-16
Liberty Fledges: 3-19-16
Justice Fledges 3-19-16
Eating and Tumbling: 12-25-15
The Hatching of NE6 – Pip to Hatch: 12-24-15
The Hatching of NE5: The Final Journey – 12-22-15
We Have a Pip! 12-21-15
R&J Welcome Egg #2 of 2015-2016 Season: 11/19/15
Romeo & Juliet Welcome 1st Egg of the 2015-2016 Season: 1-16-15
Romeo and Juliet – Mating & Bonding – 10/15/15
Romeo & Juliet Dazzle on Opening Day Chat: 10/1/15
Romeo & Juliet Together Again: 9-5-15
THE EAGLE’S NEST STANDS SILENT
(A tribute to Romeo and Juliet)
The eagle’s nest stands silent
Their annual labor done,
They’ve proven themselves worthy
Two nestlings raised, they’ve won.
As wandering eagles see them
Without a word they’d say,
“This territory is taken
You’d best be on your way!”
Returning home as fall awaits
They’ll breathe a quiet sigh,
United again in courtship
They’ll dance across the sky.
Speechless through December
Atop that Longleaf Pine Tree,
They patiently anticipate
Their hatchlings soon-to-be.
Then just before springtime
Their youngsters fully grown,
They branch with hesitation
And soon they both have flown.
The eagle’s nest stands silent
Yet has so much to say,
Until they soon return again
We await that special day.
~ By Jim Weller and Gretchen Butler
Our historian and Keeper of Records, Gretchen Butler, has kept the stats sheet up to date, providing important data from 2008 through this season. You can access it here. Thank you, Gretchen, for your years of dedicated service to this family of eagles and for helping to introduce them to millions of people around the globe!
As our cams go offline, there will be behind-the-scenes activities: the nest will be inspected, cams tested and cleaned – possibly moved higher in the tree to allow for the continual high-rise construction of the nest by Romeo and Juliet. Moving cams to a higher spot can be a very iffy thing, as Mother Nature does not always provide the perfect branch where we need it to be. But we will do our best!
POSTING VIDEOS AND PHOTOS FROM AEF CAMS
AEF invites anyone to post photos and videos provided by our high definition cams. Since these photos can be copied and duplicated over and over, we request that when you post these up to Facebook, or another social media location, the following information be attached to each photo and each video somewhere in the description: © 2016 American Eagle Foundation, www.eagles.org. We appreciate your cooperation!
Keep in Touch!
We have a special Facebook page devoted to just our nests: Dollywood, Florida, and DC. Keep up with all the “Nest News.”
A Huge Thank-You to our Mods and Zoomers!
We could not do this without our Mods and Zoomers—our dedicated, talented, and professional representatives who welcome and educate hundreds of thousands of online viewers about this nest, eagles, and the environment. Please know how much you are appreciated, and how vital you are to this program!
See you at the nest in the Fall!