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AUGUST 4TH Ah, August 4th, I'll remember this
day for a long time. It's a good day and a sad day. It's a day that
symbolizes an accumulation of weeks of anticipation and joy. How brief
were the experiences but how they occupied our summer, a
cool chilly summer that somehow never seemed to arrive. And then just when
we thought we got a glimpse of it, a brief warm hot day, it too had a hint of fall
with its long shadows and early dropping leaves. I'm not sure if it
plans on sticking around long. So it's kind of a sad day, this brief sunny warm day.
It feels empty like something lost.
UNSEASONABLY COLD SUMMER Though it has been a cool and cold summer it was filled with warmth watching this miracle of nature, this birthing and raising, so unbelievably close to us. How would we have known when we moved here that this house and place would bring such joy? It started weeks before our trip to Turkey this last May. Well, long before that actually. We watched with amusement some playful eagles during the winter weeks and months. We noticed this handsome pair of eagles working to restore the nearby ruins of a nest perched high in a branched crevice of an almost branchless mammoth sized tree near our property. It was a place obviously chosen by eagles in years past to provide the highest, safest and best view of Haro Strait, at least from our point of view. MASTERFUL ARCHITECTS For a long part of the winter we watched them fly back and forth by the living room window. They carried carefully selected sticks and branches grasped tightly in their talons. They took them to the nest and masterfully fitted each piece into the nest much like architects with a definite plan in mind. They were meticulous in their work, moving and stuffing these sticks in just the right places. Somehow they instinctively knew how so the nest would withstand the wrath of what nature throws us in the Pacific Northwest. They worked tirelessly and diligently and occasionally would take a break. They'd watch for what seemed like hours just gazing out over the strait and sometimes communicating with each other in that familiar distinct high pitched sound that eagles make. We wondered what they were saying to each other, maybe it was just meaningless chatter or were they discussing types of sticks they needed next, or changes in the construction plans, or where to hunt for their next meal? Occasionally one of them and sometimes both of them, to our delight, would perch on another tree which just happened to be directly in front of the living room windows. There, the male or female, mother or father, or maybe husband or wife depending on our imagination that day, would sit and watch the strait for hours. They were so close they were almost a part of our living room. Some days they'd turn and stare back at us and Ziggy too. There they were, the pair, always working, hunting and watching the currents, tidal changes, and then suddenly, they'd fly off in a flurry on some mission to get more sticks or food.
We watched and admired them from the confines of our warm house. Some days when we had other things to do we'd be summoned by Ziggy's call. He quickly became "in tune" with the eagles and their activities. He, like us, took interest in their every move and sound, and decided to let us know their every move with his bark. If we didn't respond he'd run into the room where ever we were and roust us out to come have a look. We did come as requested as we were always rewarded with something interesting. It was like Zig knew more than we. Funny thing....there were other nests nearby with smaller birds working too. We watched them too but not with as much interest as the eagles. GENERATION AFTER GENERATION It wasn't long before it was obvious even to the likes of us dumb city slickers that something was a brewin' as this beautiful female and powerful male began to work fastidiously. The nest was, as I said in a bit of disrepair, but soon the sticks and branches that flew by the living room window headed up to the nest to repair a nest that perhaps has been there for many years. Eagles are said to nest in the same place year after year. The same repeated tradition has been going on, generation after generation, repairing and rebuilding and making of a nest for the next generation. We laughed as we saw them fly by with all sorts of building materials, all sorts of sizes and shapes but specifically what they needed. We delighted in watching as they shoved and picked and repositioned the pieces to make the perfect iron clad nest. It was growing by the day too and looking more and more pretentious and fort like. I'm not sure I know one architect that could build something like that out of found sticks and pieces and in such a precarious place and to serve such an amazing purpose. Nature is amazing. FINISHED...TIME TO SIT Before you knew it the nest was finished. It finally met with their satisfaction and then...mom began to sit. She would sit for hours, days, nights and weeks on end. It didn't matter if there was a wind or rain storm, because...there she sat, looking out at the bleakness, enduring whatever nature threw at her. The patience of this stoic bird was impressive and dad, the powerful and mighty one, was so loyal and caring, never failing to bring her food and care for her every need and scare off daily predators. We wondered what he found to bring her, maybe a rat, or a mouse, but surely no fish were to be found, as there's no more salmon to feed on. What a difficult job we thought. How does he do it? Nature is so amazing; it makes us look like such dummies. DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE We had a trip planned to Turkey and were becoming so entrenched in the eagles' activities and the anticipation of viewing the possible hatching of the new baby(s), that we really would have actually preferred to stay home. Instead, off we went, leaving the house and Ziggy to our wonderful new found friend and dog watcher, Molly. Off we went to the exotic land of Turkey for three long weeks. Soon the memory of the eagles was put aside and somewhat forgotten as the intoxicating sights of ancient cities, smells of strange spices, the fresh salt air and rich colors of cruising along the turquoise coast took over. NOSES TO THE GROUND Once the trip was over and we were headed back home though, with our noses to ground, we permitted ourselves to again anticipate seeing our little buddy Zig. This was the longest we'd ever been away from this little feller. The curiosity of the eagle activity too was burning on our minds. HAPPY AND GOOD NEWS We were glad to see Ziggy happy and content and added to that the joy and thrill to discover that the mother eagle succeeded in hatching two eaglets while we were gone!!! Molly reported she had seen them, two of them. We looked up but didn't see them only the mother, still there, sitting. UGLY AS ALL GET OUT!
After a couple days we finally spotted one of the eaglets, ugly as all get out! All we could see was a big head and beak on a small wrinkly skinned body with no feathers. He must be cold with no feathers but mom is keeping him warm. We never did see two eaglets but Molly assured us that there were indeed two in the beginning and we believe her. We read that it is not uncommon for the bigger of the two eaglets to kill the smaller or weaker one and push it out of the nest. Brutal though it sounds it's all about survival of the fittest I guess.
PREDATORS!
It was amazing to see the care the eagles put forth to raise this little guy. It was a huge demanding job which required several feedings a day and transportation of water too! The mom and dad would take turns but always one or the other was there with the baby to watch and protect it from predators' that soon began to circle the skies and woods eyeing the little one! We too became concerned about his welfare! One day it was raccoons skirting their way up the tree and we only noticed them because Ziggy set off the alarm with his big mouth. Then it was hawks and black birds but those eagle parents were diligent and fierce and they quickly chased them off. PUFFS OF DOWN BEGAN TO APPEAR After a couple weeks we started to notice his little head popping up a little higher out of the nest and then little puffs of down like feather began to appear in patches on that wrinkly sink. It was hard to imagine this ugly little guy was the off spring of these beautiful and majestic parents! We have high hopes he'll turn out as magnificent as they are.
HARD WORK TO FEED THIS GUY
The parents worked so hard, day after
day, hour after hour taking care of this guy. We had no idea the amount
of work that goes into raising something in the wild like this. We would
remark daily at the effort and wonder how it all was possible. Nature
again amazing us to the max! TYPICAL WHINING BABY Again, weeks went by and the little guy grew and ate and became talented at acting like a little whining baby when mom or dad brought food to the nest. The parents would so carefully pick morsels and bits off a carcass, just the right bite sizes and then would place them ever so gently into his open crying mouth. And so carefully the eagles would bring water in their beaks and tilt their heads just enough to let the drops drip into the baby's open mouth. It was incredible!
Soon the little guy was getting big, so big in fact that I guess the parent's felt he could be left alone for short periods of time while they hunted. We were concerned about him when he was by himself. He didn't look like he was capable of fending off anything. He was clumsy and goofy and constantly crying for "ma ma" and at times it would attract the local hawks and ravens who then would fly by surveying the situation. Just as quickly the parent eagles reappeared with their screeching scolding sounds driving off these villainous creatures. This little guy wasn't neglected and was always under their watchful eye even though they were at times out of sight. FEATHERS Real feathers began to appear as the fluff balls began to shed off and float by in the air like cotton balls, landing here and there in the forest and out on the strait. He still was an ugly little guy but making gains in his coordination. He would move around in the nest quite a bit now and would peek out over at us occasionally. Zig would bark back. He was becoming part of the family watching us and us watching him. TEENAGER? Then one day it seemed like he progressed suddenly into what we called the teenage stage. He was now covered in feathers, not mature feathers but feathers nevertheless. He had wing feathers too now, short ones and was able maneuver himself higher in the nest and move from place to place. He was constantly showing off. FIRST WING FLAP! And then finally...we saw him lift those incredible heavy wings (in comparison to his small body) to attempt his first wing flap. After one big lift, fell flat on his beak. He was so tired he couldn't get back up for the longest time. This effort totally exhausted him. At first I was concerned and thought something was wrong. We yelled up at him and I could see him open one eye to look back at us but he was just too tired to keep it open or even care about why we were making fools of ourselves yelling at him. So he quickly closed his eye and took a long nap. He progressed though as days went by and was able to flap more and more but was just so clumsy that we would chuckle at him especially when his exercise routine would end with him falling on his face out of pure exhaustion and there he laid for his recuperative nap. BIG GUY LIKE HIS DAD He grew and
grew and GREW! GAWKING It was fun to watch his exercise routines. Up and down, up and down, those huge wings would go and his body so small in comparison that you wondered how he mustered the strength. You could tell it was a huge exertion for him but each day he did more and more. He also watched us more and more and when guests would come by to visit and see the eagle we'd all gawk at him and he back at us. It was comical. TIMING Soon he was flapping like crazy and jumping, actually air lifting himself in the nest but still not leaving the nest. We'd get the camera out and watch for great lengths of time thinking he'll leave the nest any day, any moment, any minute...but no, nature has a way of doing things in a timely manner and they all knew, baby, mom and pop, that it wasn't the right time yet as they kept bringing food and water and the exercising went on for weeks. He was quickly out-growing the nest and bits and pieces of the nest were coming apart now and falling to the ground with all his rambunctious exercise routines. Did they have any idea how big this guy would get? We noticed mom and pop coming by much less frequently now and the baby eagle crying more and more. It was disheartening to listen to his long sad cries. We felt sorry for the eagle as some days it rained on him and other days it would be hot. He'd try to get out of the weather by hunching over in the protection of the tree trunk but to see him panting with beak open and dry tongue sticking out on hot days was more than I could take. At times I'd get angry thinking that maybe mom and dad weren't taking care of him and wondering if he needed water... but no, he was not neglected, soon there they were there, feeding and nurturing this big bamboozle of a bird.
JUST LIKE A TEENAGER Just like a typical teenage he began to become a bit of a show off, doing all sorts of funny jumps and flaps and then acting like a complete baby when mom and pop came by, he'd squat low in the nest and begin begging for food with little helpless baby cries. He knows how to work them that's for sure. FLYING POOP! We laughed so hard one day as Larry captured him doing a poop. These birds are smart, neat and clean, and when it comes times to poop, he was taught to get his butt out and over the edge of the nest and to stick it high in the air and finally aim out and away from the nest! HOUSEKEEPING ON HOT DAYS Also, another indication of how smart
these creatures are was that on those hot days, the parent eagles would bring
soft cool moss and fresh cool green pine branches to the nest. The baby
would then work with them placing the cool soft material in places to make
nest comfy and cool! Amazing! LEFT THE COOP? Soon, the nest was not much of a nest anymore after all the exercise routines he had practically demolished it. For the first time we thought the little big guy was gone, left the coop, as we didn't seem him. But...no...he just moved over on to a branch! He progressed to an actual branch now! He learned to clutch it and balance. Surely he'll leave the nest now we thought. How can he stand there holding on to the branch all day and night we asked ourselves?....But he did. Each day now, Larry would watch with camera in hand, waiting for the shot of his first flight. No, he didn't leave, still there in the morning, every morning, and still there all day and at sunset. It still wasn't time yet.
SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ZIG Zig was still watching too, sensing every little thing they were doing and letting us know about it... surely we should have paid more attention this very morning on August 4th when Ziggy was trying to tell us the little eagle finally flew the coop! EMPTY AND SAD We felt so empty and sad when we discovered he was gone. We missed his big moment. We shared so much with him all these months and he with us and now we missed his big moment. How could he go without saying good bye? What was his first flight like? Imagine it! Where did he land? Where did he go? We imagined him flying the skies and out over the water that he stared at so longingly for weeks and months on end. No more the sound of those sad cries as the parents started leaving the nest for longer periods, trying in their way to teach him to be on his own, to make him hungry to teach him to leave the nest to get food on his own. We were there during that time keeping him company. We had a paternal bond. We're both sad and yet happy for him. We miss him already and he's only been gone for a brief time. We miss him so much that our house feels empty but hopefully he'll fly by and say hello with a glance. Maybe he'll be back in a couple years with a mate and we can see this amazing thing all over again. I feel comfort in knowing that the parents are with him, training him to fly, and hunt, and be magnificent. I just would love to see it. I've read about it and have seen it in Alaska. We've seen all those clumsy young eaglets learning from their parents, doing goofy dives in the water trying to catch a fish and not succeeding, and doing funny crash landings, etc. GOOD LUCK BABY EAGLE! His parents have served him well so far so I know they are with him now and continuing what nature trained them to do and their parents before them. His majestic huge dad who he took after, a duplicate in the gene pool and his graceful petite, caring mom are with him, still their work not quite finished, and that's comfort in itself. Good luck baby eagle! Come back and visit sometime or just fly by and give us a cry for old time's sake! Local friends also waiting:
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ZIGGY "IN TUNE"
TIME ALONE
