Gabby was in nestorations mode in the late afternoon/early evening with her bringing in four sticks in a short period of time. Beau was there each time she landed with a stick and he would drop to the nest to help her place it. But Gabby was not welcoming to Beau or his intentions and was snappy at him. Beau would leave and keep coming back with his persistent nature. Gabby did not want him on the nest helping her.

As the light starts to fade away from the sky, Beau perched on the side of the nest and kept his distance. He watched Gabby the entire time and he started to softly whine to her. Beau clearly wants her to accept his presence & signal it is okay for him to help her with the sticks. But Gabby was not interested in Beau this evening and seemed to just want him to leave her alone. After he finally left, she remained on the nest alone working on it for some time.

What does all this mean? And why did Gabby accept 24E1's presence on the nest for nestorations and acted very different towards him than she did with Beau? I wish there was a simple answer for her behavior. One thing stands out Gabby seemed to like 24E1's presence on the nest & she accepted his sticks/moss and nest work & even got to eat a piece of fish he brought for her. She did mate with him last year at least one time that we know of. All we really know is seeing the behavior of the eagles & we must not try to interpret their behavior with our human logic. Wild raptors do not act in logical & linear ways they are guided by instinct & hormones. Right now, their hormones have not kicked in so they are just performing perfunctory actions .

24E1 has not been seen since Beau returned on Oct 2nd. It appears that Beau ousted 24E1 from the immediate area. It is unknown if 24E1 will return of if he will keep his distance. Once the urge to procreate begins, Gabby will want to have eggs & will be more open to mating. It is unknown if that will be Beau or 24E1 if he is still out there. Personally I really like both Beau & 24E1 & just want Gabby to be happy in her selection & to have a successful season with eggs & chicks. I wanted to do this video of her behavior to show a stark contrast in her comfortability between Beau & 24E1 at this point in time (Gabby has a long history with Beau & she did accept him as her mate last season). Because the season is just beginning, there is no set routine between Beau & Gabby yet. Gabby will ultimately decide who wins her heart! So we will watch & observe their behavior now & see how this will unfold. ♥ Thank you for watching!

Video captured & edited by Lady Hawk

Courtesy of AEF NEFL American Eagle Foundation Eagles.org