Yes. You heard me correctly, but we’re not talking about chickens here we’re talking about eagles.
So remember back when I got some interesting shot of eagles flying about and perched near a nest. Well, if you can’t remember here are some pics to get you up to speed. These were taken on May 14th.
Since then I have been back to visit a few more times.
On June 19th in the nest I saw evidence of new life.
On July 2nd I saw this from across the river.
On July 12th my brother checked on them early one morning and witnessed one of the two take its first flight.
So last night when I decided to pay a visit I wasn’t expecting to find anyone left in the nest. To my surprise one was still there.
I watched for about 45 minutes with no change. He did do a lot of preening, looking around and once in a while emitted a squeak, squeak. Probably calling out for dinner because he was hungry. I would sometimes hear a faint return call from down river. Probably Mom telling him to go get it himself.
In the meantime I found these little guys playing around.
Then I returned my attention to Mr. “I don’t want to fly yet”. It was pretty exciting. I watched him preen, look and squeak. And then I watched him do it again. And again. Okay. I won’t repeat it again and again like it actually happened, but it did happen again and again a lot.
But then as if rehearsed in his mind to perfection he casually jumped off his branch, spread his magnificent wings and took flight. A couple of flaps and he disappeared over the trees behind the nest. It was so unexpected I didn’t even get a picture of it.
So now the question is did he continue to fly as gracefully as he started off? And where did he go? I waited. And waited. Still no return. I had a feeling that the adults may return with the approaching darkness so I stuck around a bit longer to see what might happen.
I was willing to bet that if the adult eagle would return to the area he would fly over my head just about where I was standing. I had seen him do this before. He likes perching on a tree across the river where he can watch the nest. I was staked out in that very place. The only problem is I didn’t know when and if he would even come. And I was sort of in a blind spot behind a tree so I couldn’t see down river which is where he normally flies from.
I did learn something however. A large bird whooshing by about 20 feet overhead does make a sound. It’s a very powerful, brief “whoosh” that you can almost feel. And it is also very startling when you don’t know its coming. It happened so fast I didn’t get a shot off until he was past me. What an experience that was.
The adult eagle continued up river and out of sight. Probably to a tree a little further down where he could survey the nest and check on the young one left behind. And right in the very same flight path comes junior. This is the one who has been flying since July 12th. It was still a bit startling and unexpected, but this time I got a photo of him directly overhead. Unfortunately, the sun is quite low now so there a lot of dark areas where the trees are blocking sunlight which makes it a challenge to get good images.
And then a few minutes later guess who shows up? The newest member of the squadron makes an appearance and lands in a tree near the nest. Not a real graceful landing mind you, but he is sort of new at this.
And then moments later a little showing off for the family as he circles the nest and flies off.
I waited a bit longer for more action, but it was getting pretty dark. I didn’t see any more activity, but as I was leaving I did hear an occasional squeak, squeak from different locations along the river. Maybe a little celebratory communication was going on.
And so a new chapter begins for the newest member. Free to soar as only an eagle can. It has been really neat to look back on this and put it all together in one place. It’s been a very enjoyable experience and I thank God for the opportunity to allow me to witness a small snapshot into the life of these magnificent creatures. What an amazing experience.
