One Happy Family

When we released the recuperated eaglet this summer we were a bit concerned. Its injured wing had healed nicely and Cindy welcomed it home within a few minutes but as she and her eaglet disappeared behind the trees I wondered about how it would get along in the weeks and months to come. Only time would tell.

In the ensuing days, as we watched the skies above the well field and searched the nearby treetops looking for sightings of the young Bald Eagle, questions and doubts haunted the back of my mind, lurking in the shadows of my thoughts: How was the youngster injured in the first place? Was the once-damaged wing prone to further injury? Would its sibling accept it after its week-long absence? Would it be able to make up for the time it had lost during the crucial period of flying and hunting training under Jim’s expert instruction? Often we would see a juvenile sitting with Jim or Cindy and many times a juvie would be spotted flying with them over Eagle Lake, but it was always one juvenile. Just one. Since all first year juveniles look pretty much the same, how could we know if it was the same young eagle every time or if we were seeing two different birds? We so wanted to see both juveniles together so we would know with certainty that the injured bird had indeed survived. You can successfully put thoughts like these out of your mind for a while but you long to settle the question once and for all.

Jim and Cindy’s behavior is running about two weeks behind last year’s schedule, but then last year everything was running a little earlier than the previous years. Unanswered questions can feed lingering doubts and lingering doubts can lead to unwanted anxiety. Today as I sat in the comfort of my heated car at Huffman Lake watching the assortment of waterfowl through a thin layer of wet snowflakes melting on my windshield, I found myself reminiscing about the past few months. Suddenly the sky was full of agitated sea gulls. They exploded from the surface of the lake with a reckless abandon that could only mean one thing, an eagle was hunting in the area. A few seconds passed before I saw the dark, flat form of a juvenile Bald Eagle flying through the franticly parting gulls. As it approached the water’s surface it extended its feet and legs forward and flared its talons for the catch. With barely a splash it pulled a glistening fish from beneath the wet, glassy plane and headed directly to the seclusion and privacy of a leafy limb on a tree across the lake. I was impressed. As it began to dine the pace of the still-startled gulls quickened again and another dark form glided silently just above the water. A second juvenile eagle was streaking across the lake and heading right at the contented diner! The second young one swooped up into the tree where it was welcomed with a brief flurry of flapping wings and a bit of scolding chatter before the second juvenile moved on to another limb!

Two first-year Bald Eagles! But were they our two? I did not need to ponder that question for long because the gull alarm soon flashed again. Cindy came in high and perched herself squarely between the two and the second juvie set off to catch a fish of its own. Those lingering doubts vanished with the realization that both eaglets had survived and were prospering. As I sat there smiling Jim flew in and landed right next to Cindy. (A quick text to Roger and he too swooped in.) For another hour our shutters sang as we watched them perch, fish, eat and play as the restless gulls found little, if any, peace. Occasionally I exited the car to find a better angle for my camera but telephoto pictures taken by shivering hands are not very useful. So I retreated again to the relative warmth of the heated car.

My hands may have been cold but my heart was warm as I smiled out of the open window at one happy family.

The arrival of the second hungry Juvie wanting its sibling’s catch.

Beautiful baby.

“Not my fish Kiddo!”

Cindy welcoming (?) Jim to her perch.

Great Blue Bystander.

Happy trio.

Jim

Sibling rivalry.

Parental guidance.

Lovebirds.