Russian: https://dzen.ru/a/aUjexkGgnHgJuEqZ
Kamychi: previously on: https://dzen.ru/a/Zejr31jw_1_29efE?share_to=link
The film stars are: white-tailed eagles Kama, the mother and family's patriarch; Chulman, the devoted husband and indispensable helper (right hand); and Sardai, the beloved chick and pride of the family. The supporting cast: great spotted woodpeckers, white-tailed eagles, great tits, jays, squirrel, ravens and crows, hawk, butterfly, long-tailed tit, bumblebee, buzzards, blue tit, willow tit, nuthatch, flycatcher, treecreeper, mistle thrush, thrushes, crossbill and others.
The music was provided by cuckoo, black woodpecker, bullfinch, coal tit, goshawk, falcons, gulls, Ural owl, siskin, wood pigeon, greenfinch, blackbird, cranes, woodcock, chaffinch, geese, starling, golden oriole, owl and others.
Start of the season
On February 26th, the surrounding areas of the Nizhnyaya Kama National Park rang with the cries of a happy pair of white-tailed eagles, Chulman and Kama! The birds returned home and immediately began repairing their nest. And there was indeed much to repair: last year's destruction made by the young eaglets had left considerable damage. The owners brought large branches to restore the edge of the nest and also brought fluffy pine branches and dry grass to create a soft bed for the future chicks. According to our volunteers’ data, on February 28th, Chulman and Kama collected 46 branches of varying sizes, a record number for the entire observation season!
Troublemakers
But our series wouldn't be so suspensory if everything went on a roll. Meanwhile, passions were running high in the nest! Here's what eyewitnesses reported: "On March 13th, the three of them spent the night together: Kama settled into the nest, Chulman took his place on the right branch, and the third eagle—a mysterious guest—was behind the camera on the left. In the morning, the third one flew off after Kama." Fortunately, a love triangle didn't occur. Kama took the lead into her owns paws and focused on the repairs. Only she knows how to properly arrange the branches in the nest. And the acquiescent Chulman tried to earn her favor by delighting her with the first fish he brought.
About a month later, on April 12th, another insolent intrusion of the Kamychis' privacy occurred. Chulman was warily peering at something beyond the camera's visibility, shouting from time to time. He was excited and attentive to what was going on, but he can’t throw the nest because there was only one egg in it! A few minutes later, the intruder landed right in front of him.
"What kind of trick is this?" read in the host’s grumpy look.
But as soon as the alien took his place on the branch and tried to make himself comfortable, a furious Kama pounced on him. It seemed only incredible agility or luck had saved her from crashing against Chulman in her furious attempt to clamp down on the troubler. The troublemaker was a young and inexperienced eagle, who had only just begun to learn the rules and laws of his species' complex world.
The first and the only younger Kamych this season
Despite the predictions of our subscribers, who chose during the vote on March 20-21 as possible dates of egg appearance, Mom Kama presented a surprise, postponing it until the evening of March 24. The snow-white and shining egg was a pleasant surprise for Daddy Chulman, who, having shunned his manly tears of joy, immediately began warming the egg and rummaging through the branches in the nest.
From that moment on, Kama and Chulman showed themselves to be exemplary parents: they replaced each other in nesting, comforted the nest with pine needles and hay, guarded the territory from intruders. Mom Kama never ceased to amaze us with her perseverance: long shifts in the nest, rain, stormy winds, and snow— she does not care a cuss. Even bouquets of pine needles from Daddy Chulman and tasty fish didn't always persuade her to give up her place and stretch her legs. On April 28th, we watched as the birds tough it out a snowstorm that blanketed Tatarstan. Kama's shift lasted 19 hours that day! Only in the evening did she yield to Chulman for a couple of hours, after which she resumed incubation at night.
The very next day, a chick was born, for which devoted admirers chose the neutral name Sardai the name of one of the tributaries of River Kama). Due to the situation around the nest and other technical issues, it was decided not to band the eaglet this year, and therefore it was impossible to determine the eaglet's sex. Incubation lasted 35 days.
For the first time...
Thanks to our volunteers' observations, we were able to record many touching and curious moments in the Kamychis’ life, as well as the emergence of new skills in the young eaglet's development. Here are just a few of them
His first feeding took place on April 30th. While the chick was very tiny, parents gave him small portions, but did it often - up to 17 times a day! This regimen helped him gain strength and become stronger faster. Kama would have fed him more often, but the chick simply couldn't because he was already full or asleep. On May 18th, Sardai tasted his first fish tail, and on the 28th, he tried to bite a fish himself for the first time. By June 6th, he was able to eat a whole fish without his parents' help.
There were also curious cases. One day in May, sitting in the nest, Chulman did not know which fish to choose for feeding. Then the chick lightly tapped his beak into one of them, as if to say: «I want this! ». Chulman took it.
His attitude toward food also changed. As the young eagle grew, he demanded more and more In May he learned to crow tender at the sight of a flying up parent, and by June, he began to greet his parents, who were late with deliveries, with complaints. Any fish that reached the nest automatically became Sardai's property. The insolent offspring unabashedly took the catch and chased Chulman out of the nest. He wanted to try the same trick with Kama, but she's not one to mess around with.
The young bird had to learn not only how to eat, but also how to walk and fly. On May 16th, the chick was practicing his wings while sitting, on the 21st, it stood on his feet and took two steps, and two days later, he was standing confidently. By the end of the following month, Sardai was entertaining us with powerful wing flaps and high leaps with a stick or fish in its paw.
A nest won't build or repair itself. This important skill also needed to be mastered. On May 19th, Chulman moved a tuft of grass; the chick looked and moved it too. A week later, Sardai was enthusiastically arranging twigs on his own. In June, he was dragging bedding around the nest, conscientiously arranging everything by his preference, and in July, he began "moving furniture": he rummaged through the nest for food, pulled branches from the bottom, and broke the edge of the nest that his parents had so heartily repaired in the spring.
Our junior also explored the outside world gradually. In May, under my mother’s supervision carefully looked at the forest from the front edge of the nest, and already on June 3, his parents left him alone to sleep. But do not panic! They settled on nearby branches. On June 27th, the chick made an unsuccessful first step onto the central branch, on the 10th it already jumped on it, and about a month later bravely covered in flight the distance from the central branch to the nest in two flaps.
All's well that ends well
On July 14th, Sardai rolled down with part of the nest in front of shocked observers This event caused considerable concern among everyone watching the broadcast Judging by the sounds, night and morning of the next day poor fellow spent somewhere under the nest. Later the observers saw several times an eaglet, presumably Sardai, flying by within the camera's field of view and heard a voice very similar to his.
Sitting quietly, resigned to fate, was certainly not an option for the youngest Kamych. The whole forest knew that Sardai was out of place and needed a fish, which was good, because it allowed his parents to find him and feed him, which is exactly what they did.
On July 27th, Sardai returned as a confident flier, showing no signs of exhaustion. Upon arrival, after poking around the nest for food and practicing his grip, the young eagle lay down to await dinner. His parents didn't disappoint: both Chulman and Kama arrived that day with full beaks. The next day at 3:11 PM, Sardai left the nest and us, the devoted viewers of the online broadcast, on his own.
A similar situation happened here and last year. The fledgling Tanai fell from the nest and made his first flight on July 16th, returning on the 21st, once he had mastered the art of flying. However, he left his parental home again on July 23rd.
Sardai, Kama, and Chulman will continue to delight us with visits, but gradually the urge to return to the nest will wane, and we will see them less and less frequently. Kama and Chulman were last in the nest on September 6th, and Sardai on October 4th. Stay tuned for the new season of our series next year and follow us on social media.
For reference:
Live stream from the nest of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in the Nizhnyaya Kama National Park in Tatarstan. The camera was installed as part of the project "Conservation of eagle populations inhabiting the territory where PAO Tatneft operates." Project Manager: Rinur Bekmansurov.
We express our sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to the project volunteers for their invaluable contribution. Thanks to their work, bird calls and nesting events are recorded, observation logs are maintained, chats are moderated, videos featuring highlights are created, engaging texts are written, and the project's social media channels are actively supported. This enormous amount of work forms the foundation of the project, without which its existence would be impossible.
Broadcast links:
Youtube: https://clck.ru/3Qtu5Z
VKontakte: https://vkvideo.ru/@orlanbeloxvost/lives
The project's official social media:
Yandex.Zen: https://zen.yandex.ru/orlanbeloxvost
Telegram: https://t.me/orlanbeloxvost
VKontakte: https://vk.com/orlanbeloxvost
OK: https://ok.ru/orlanbeloxvost
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=87729185
Thanks to Maria for translation