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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

May 26-27, 2007

Being an only eaglet has its advantages and disadvantages.

One advantage is that you have the whole nest to yourself and can practice flapping your wings without bumping into any siblings. As the wings continue to develop, there is more and more time spent practicing the art of flapping. The key seems to be keeping the coordination and balance of both wings going up and down at the same time, which is obviously much harder than it looks. Windy days were especially challenging as the baby would sometimes fall over when it was heart-stoppingly close to the edge of the nest. It must be like dancing for humans—some people glide effortlessly across the dance floor and others look like, well, like a baby eagle learning to flap wings that are growing much longer and ganglier every day.  

A disadvantage is having no one else to play with or squabble with—although the fact

that you get to have all the food cancels out this disadvantage.  Entertaining oneself in a nest consists primarily of playing with sticks and rearranging different areas of the nest, sleeping, and preening.

Neighbors

There is another nest a few miles down river and we had heard that there were 2 babies in that nest and one was much larger than the other. Much to our surprise, there were 3 baby eagles in it! It is very rare for 3 babies to fledge. There is some concern as one baby did not stand up in the short time we were there. Although it was getting very late in the day and the sun was fading, it was a joy to watch them, too.The nest looks very wide—and needs to be to fit all three babie. I can't imagine what feeding time must look like! There was one baby that was much more feathered out and she would try to fly and hop across the nest and over her siblings. It was pretty crowded when two of them would try to flap at the same time. In the picture, the third baby can be seen behind the branch on the far right side of the nest.

The rains held off for most of the afternoon and early evening Saturday. And when a shower would pass through, the thick canopy of leaves above us served as a wonderful umbrella. It was a pleasure to have Darrel Mills from INHF come out and enjoy the incredible setting for part of the afternoon on Saturday.

The baby and its feathers continue to grow rapidly. This tremendous growth demands multiple feedings each day.

Fish, fish and more fish

Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon were filled with fish, fish and more fish being brought to the nest. Someone asked how much of the fish was actually eaten by the eagles. The answer: every bit of it is eaten—from the head to the tail and everything in between, including the bones, fins, and intestines.  It is remarkable that the bones don't get stuck or scratch anything on their way down!  How long does it take to eat a whole fish? It took them just under twenty minutes to finish off one of the larger fish that was brought to the nest. The tail picture shows a large piece that the adult swallowed whole—incredible.


Final update for 2007!!!

June 29, 2007--The nest is almost impossible to see at this time of the year, so our observer is no longer able to take photos and give us reports. Although this is the last report of the year, at least it's a happy one!

"Just back from a hike out to the eagle nest--Can't see anything except the lower portion of nest because of the pine tree branch heavy with pinecones hanging in front of the nest. I did hear the baby demanding food by screeching PLEEEZ, PLEEEZ, PLEEEZ. It sounded like he was downriver of the nest tree--probably where the adults always sit over there. So no more eagle pics this year!"

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