Welcome to the John Bunker Sands Eagle Tower Cam
Glossary of Terms & Abbreviations
Updated: October 12, 2023Definitions: 104
Conversations in the "chat box" on the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center live video page are often posted with terms and abbreviations that newcomers may not know or recognize. Conversations may remain in the chat box long after people involved in the conversation have left. Consequently, there's often no one around to explain an abbreviation, word, or term you may see.
This glossary may help beginners and others to understand these often confusing terms and abbreviations. Many abbreviations are commonly used in cell phone text communication. Others are unique to eagle-watching, and may also apply to other species of birds.
Entries with an "MP3" icon have links to examples of audio. To listen to the audio, click the icon. A new tab will open and play the audio. To return to the Glossary page, simply close the newly created "audio" tab.
Click the first letter of the term or abbreviation you'd like to find:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
| A | |
AFK | Abbreviation for "away from keyboard". Also "away from the keyboard", or "away from my keyboard". In all cases, not actively monitoring the conversation. |
Anthropomorphize | To attribute human form, personality, or emotions to a non-human entity such as birds or other animals. Example: Assigning the emotion of sadness to bald eagles when an egg is destroyed by predators. |
Anthropomorphizing | See "Anthropomorphize." |
ASL | Abbreviation for "Above Sea Level". A reference to the altitude of the nest. Not a term typically used with the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center Eagle Cam (or nest). More often applicable when a nest is in a mountainous area. |
| B | |
BAEA | Abbreviation for "BAld EAgle(s)". Also "BE". |
BBIAB | Abbreviation for "Be back in a bit.". A reference to stepping away from the computer for a short time, but planning to return. |
BBL | Abbreviation for "Be back later". |
BE | Abbreviation for "Bald Eagle(s)". Also "BAEA". |
Bobble Head | Describes the tendency of baby eagles (eaglets) to wobble their heads while sitting up. May also refer to baby eagles. See also "eaglet". |
Bonk | When one eaglet hits its head against the head of a sibling. Considered an assertion of dominance among eaglets. |
Bowl | Low area in the center of the nest where the eagles lay their eggs. |
BP | Abbreviation for "Back Porch". This is typically the part of the nest farthest from the camera, or in an area out of view of the camera. |
Branching (also "Branch") | "Branching" is what eaglets do just before fledging. They move from the nest to a branch and jump vertically off the branch while flapping their wings to strengthen their flight muscles. They're airborne for a few seconds, and return to the branch. Eaglets may repeat this exercise several times in a row. In the case of the JBS eagles, they'll still "branch", but in this case, these branches just happen to be metal. |
Brood (also "Brooding") | The point of cessation of egg laying and beginning of readiness to sit on and incubate eggs. After chicks hatch, parents "brood" their young, keeping them warm by spreading their feathers out like an umbrella so chicks can be in contact with the skin of the adult eagle for transfer of body warmth. |
Brood Patch | A "brood patch" is a featherless area of skin on the underside of female and male eagles. The brood patch is present on females and males during the nesting season because both birds incubate the eggs and eaglets. The patch is well supplied with blood vessels at the skin surface to facilitate heat transfer and warmth. |
BRB | Abbreviation for "Be Right Back". |
BTW | Abbreviation for "By the way...". |
| C | |
Cam | Short for "camera". |
COG | Abbreviation for "Change of Guard ", or "Changing of the Guard". A change of guard occurs when one eagle moves off the nest to take a break and the other eagle takes over incubating the egg(s). Also termed "shift change". |
CH | Abbreviation for "chortle" (or "chortles"). A sound eagles make when communicating. See "chortle". |
Chortle | A sound made by an eagle as a form of communication with their mate or other eagles. Usually a short and rapid series of "chirps". May also be a territorial call or greeting depending on context, or a battle cry when engaging invaders. |
Clutch | A group of eggs produced by the female eagle. "Clutch" also applies to eggs produced by other birds, reptiles, and amphibians. |
COD | Abbreviation for "Circle of Doom". A "COD" appears when the live video feed has a spinning circle in the center of the image, indicating the data stream has been interrupted, usually from the camera to the Internet. |
Craw | See "Crop". |
Crop | A wide spot in the esophagus where an eagle can store food. |
CUL | Abbreviation for "See you later". |
Cup | See "Egg Cup". |
| D | |
Delayed Incubation | Female bald eagles typically lay two eggs several days apart. To help ensure the chicks hatch on the same day as closely as possible, eagles don't constantly incubate the first egg(s), which cools the egg temperature somewhat. This isn't harmful to the chick. In turn, cooling an egg slightly slows the development of the chick. If not for this, the first chick - being older and stronger - competes with its younger siblings, and may even kill them. |
DOE | Abbreviation for "Dream of Eagles", a comment often made in farewell to someone leaving a "chat", typically when they stop watching for the evening. An eagle watcher's equivalent of wishing someone "Sweet dreams". |
Double Clutching | Double clutching is laying a second set of eggs. This typically happens in the wild if the eggs are damaged by being stepped on, or are lost to preditors. Eagle biologist, Dr. Peter Sharpe, states: "Eagles will generally not lay another clutch if they have incubated for more than about 2 weeks, so there is probably a switch that is triggered by a particular amount of incubating that does not allow them to become fertile again within a season." |
| E | |
Eaglet | Young eagle, typically a few days after hatching, and up to the period before the first flight (fledging). |
Egg Cup | Soft plant material placed by the eagles in the center of the nest to cushion and help keep the eggs warm. The egg cup is the lowest point in the center of the nest. |
Egg Tooth | An eagle's egg tooth is a small pointed projection on the tip of a chick's beak it uses for breaking out of the shell. When a crack exists in the shell, the chick uses the egg tooth to break through more of the shell. The egg tooth falls off a few days after hatching. |
| F | |
Fam | Abbreviation for "Family". |
FB | Abbreviation for "Facebook". |
Feaking | The act of an eagle rubbing its beak against a surface for cleaning or maintaining beak shape, often done after eating. |
Fledge | When a young bird takes its first flight from the nest. |
Fluff | Dead grasses and other soft vegetation brought to the nest by the eagles for lining the egg cup where eggs will be laid and incubated. |
FYI | Abbreviation for "For Your Information". |
| G | |
GA | Abbreviation for "Good Afternoon". |
GE | Abbreviation for "Good Evening". |
GHO (also "GHOW") | Abbreviation for "Great Horned Owl". |
GN | Abbreviation for "Good Night". |
Gravid | An eagle that is gravid is carrying an egg internally, prior to laying that egg. |
GTG | Abbreviation for "Got to go". (As in, "I have to leave the chat.") |
GM | Abbreviation for "Good Morning". |
| H | |
HAGD | Abbreviation for "Have a good day". |
HAGE | Abbreviation for "Have a good evening". |
HAGM | Abbreviation for "Have a good morning". |
HAGN | Abbreviation for "Have a good night". |
HB | Abbreviation for "Hurry Back". |
HNY | Abbreviation for "Happy New Year". (At the appropriate time of year.) |
HTH | Abbreviation for "Hope this helps...", or "Hope that helped...". A reference to an answer to a question or other information provided, and an expression of optimism that the response met the expectation. |
| I | |
ICYMI | Abbreviation for "In case you missed it...". |
IIRC | Abbreviation for "If I remember correctly". |
IMO | Abbreviation for "In my opinion...". |
IMHO | Abbreviation for "In my humble opinion...". |
IR | Abbreviation for "Infrared". Many nest cams have infrared illumination sources to allow us to view in the dark. The camera is sensitive to infrared light, which we see as black & white (and various shades of gray). Bald eagles can't see infrared light. To them, it's totally dark. |
| J | |
JBSWC | Abbreviation for "John Bunker Sands Wetland Center.", owner and sponsor of this eagle cam. |
| K | |
| No entries yet for words or terms beginning with 'K'. |
| L | |
LOL | Abbreviation for "Laugh (or laughing) out loud." |
| M | |
Mantle | To "mantle" (or "mantling") is when a raptor such as a bald eagle spreads its wings and haunches over its prey to keep it out of sight of other birds that may attempt to steal it. Also refers to an action taken by a bald eagle or other raptor while incubating, where the bird spreads its wings over the nest area to protect the egg or chicks from weather or predators. In reference to bald eagles incubating on the nest, the latter definition applies. |
Mantling | See "Mantle". |
Mod | Short for "Moderator". Moderators are volunteers appointed by the video site owner to answer questions and help make the "chat" aspect of the site enjoyable for all. |
Mods | Plural of "Moderator". See "Mod". |
| N | |
NB | Abbreviation for "Night Bot". An automated feature in a chat system that automatically and periodically inserts information and reminders into the chat window. In the absence of a human moderator, a night bot may also screen conversations for inappropriate comments and delete posts it recognizes as disallowed. |
Nares | Term for an eagle's nostrils. |
Nest Cup | See "Egg Cup". |
| O | |
OMG | Abbreviation for "Oh My God!". An exclamation of surprise. |
OSD | Abbreviation for "Obsessive Stick Disorder". Refers to continued retrieval of sticks to the nest by one or both eagles when more sticks are clearly not needed. |
| P | |
Pellet | Indigestible food regurgitated by a bird. In the case of eagles, a pellet consists only of fur or feathers. Other raptors, such as owls, also regurgitate bones in their pellet along with the fur of animals they consume. |
Pip | See "Pipping". |
Pipping | Breaking through the eggshell by a hatchling; the first break is called a pip. Hatchling eaglets have a special notch on their beak called an "egg tooth" to facilitate pipping. |
Pip Watch | Viewing a bald eagle nest in antipation of the imminent emergence of a hatchling eagle. |
Poop Shoot | The action when a bald eagle steps to the edge of the nest, turns their tail over the edge, and defecates outside of the nest to prevent fouling their nest. |
PPL | Abbreviation for "People". |
PS | Abbreviation for "Poop Shoot". Human descriptive of the action when a bald eagle steps to the edge of the nest, turns their tail over the edge, and defecates outside of the nest to prevent fouling their nest. |
| Q | |
| No entries yet for words or terms beginning with 'Q'. |
| R | |
Rail | Twigs, sticks, and branches that form the upper perimeter of a bald eagle nest. |
Raptor | A bird of prey that eats meat in the form of fish, other birds, rodents, small mammals, occasional reptiles, and others. Bald eagles are a "raptor". |
Reclutch | Reclutching occurs if a predator takes the egg(s), or eaglets die shortly after hatching, and adult eagles produce another egg (or eggs). |
RT | Abbreviation for "Roost Tree". A tree where one or both birds may spend time resting or sleeping. A roost tree is near the nest so they can respond quickly in case of intruders at the nest. One eagle may occupy the roost tree while the other is incubating the egg(s). |
RTH | Abbreviation for "Red Tailed Hawk". Red tailed hawks may compete with bald eagles for food, and are typically driven away by the eagles. |
| S | |
SCAP | Abbreviation for "screen capture". A software snapshot of whatever was on your computer screen at the time it was saved. |
SED | Abbreviation for "Sweet Eagle Dreams.". (Another way of wishing someone a "Good night".) |
SEH | Abbreviation for "Sweet Eagle Hugs". |
Shift Change | A "shift change" is when the eagle that's been incubating the egg(s) gets off the nest, and the other eagle takes over incubation duty. Also termed "COG" (change of guard). |
Slow Mode | The number of people participating in a"chat" can get quite large, sometimes in the thousands of people. Site moderators set the chat to limit how frequently a person can post a comment or question, typically ranging from |
SMH | Abbreviation for "Shaking My Head". A figurative action indicating mild disbelief, puzzlement, or simply not understanding the basis for something. |
Sub | Abbreviation for "sub-adult". A juvenile eagle typically older than one year, but has not yet attained its adult plumage. |
Sub | Abbreviation for "sub-adult". A juvenile eagle typically older than one year, but has not yet attained its adult plumage. |
SYT | Abbreviation for "See you tomorrow". |
| T | |
Talon | Sharp, pointed claw on an eagle's toe. Each foot has four talons. |
TKS | Abbreviation for "Thanks!" |
TS | Abbreviation for "Time Stamp". Chat areas at various eagle cam sites have a time stamp that shows when a comment or question was posted. In some cases, the time stamp can be turned on and off by the user. |
TTE | Abbreviation for "Trust the eagles". |
TTFN | Abbreviation for "Ta Ta for now." Another way of saying "Goodbye", or "See you later...". |
TY | Abbreviation for "Thank you." |
TYIA | Abbreviation for "Thank you in advance". |
TYVM | Abbreviation for "Thank you very much." |
| U | |
UFO | Abbreviation for "Unidentified Food Object". |
| V | |
| No entries yet for words or terms beginning with 'V'. |
| W | |
WB | Abbreviaton for "Welcome back". |
WFH | Abbreviaton for "work (or working) from home", as in a home office. |
Wingslap (also "Wing slap") | An action taken by a bald eagle to repel an intruder perceived as a threat. Wings spread wide, and sometimes striking a wing (or wings) toward the intruder. While not all intruders are dangerous to the eagles (for example, a squirrel), eagles are very defensive of their nest, eggs, and young, and will drive away anything if it gets too close for their comfort. |
| X | |
| No entries yet for words or terms beginning with 'X'. |
| Y | |
YT | Abbreviaton for "YouTube (or You Tube)". YouTube is the site that hosts the JBS Eagle Cam videos. |
YVW | Abbreviaton for "You're very welcome." |
YW | Abbreviaton for "You're welcome." |
| Z | |
| No entries yet for words or terms beginning with 'Z'. |
