Eagle Watching

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I spent the past month birding in the same location along a small river where a single eaglet is growing in leaps and bounds. We first visited the nest on April 26 and the female was still incubating the egg(s). Two weeks later an eaglet was barely visible over the edge of the nest. On May 31, the eaglet was able to sit up on its own and was exercising its wings. It had few feathers and a lot of fluff and both parents were vigilant, never leaving the youngster alone.

Things were about the same one week later. Only one parent was seen but it stayed at the nest for long periods of time.

Two weeks later I saw the eaglet alone for at least thirty minutes. It sat in the nest and rested out of sight at intervals. One parent brought some food and stayed at the nest for over an hour. Once again, I did not see the adult eagles together at the nest.

I visited the nest today in the rain and stayed a couple of hours until the skies cleared. The eaglet is about eight weeks old now and has its flight feathers. It exercised frequently and was able to lift its wings and get to a branch outside the nest. It is almost adult size but is not able to fly. The young bird sat out for a few minutes at a time and then returned to the nest for a rest. An adult dropped a rodent off once in two hours and stayed only for a minute or two before leaving.

The adults were absent from the nest but were vigilant from a distance. They soared above the nest as if demonstrating how to fly. I think the young bird will catch on soon. 

Composite photograph