Eaglets practicing, flexing their wings

I have been checking in with the Eva and Albert blogger who includes excellent photos of the eagles, parents and eaglets alike, with his blogs. And the older of the two nestlings is shown practicing flexing his/her wings, even making some modest lift offs from the nest this past week, all in anticipation of fledging soon. And we have seen the parents on every trip across the bridge lately. The other day Ethel was sitting upon the southern fountain, located just south of the 520 bridge on the west side where the eagles usually appear. She had something in her right talon.....it could have been a crow, or it might have been a small fish. I could not quite make it out. Then yesterday and today we saw Ethel upon her favorite light standard, and later Ernest was in that exact post. Now it is Ernest who is looking a bit disheveled. His feathers are all caterwampus, apparently parenting can be tumultuous at times! I will let you know when the eaglets fledge. Once they do....who knows where they will go. But we believe Ethel and Ernest have homesteaded right where they are. Or at least we hope so. And a side note. A recent book written by two University of Washington professors, "The Gifts of the Crow", has been a fascinating read. There was a section in the book about the behavior of crows during a period of grieving for a crow that dies. Last week I actually was just a few feet away when a fledgling crow crashed straight down to the ground in our back yard from one of our huge fir trees. The crow appeared to be a couple of weeks from fledging age, tail feathers not quite full yet. And this young crow, while still barely alive, who appeared to make absolutely no attempt whatsoever to fly, even to flap his wings as he fell, had a grossly enlarged abdomen which also was completely bare of any feathers whatsoever. He was dead within just a few moments. I looked around for parents, relative crows, always so omnipresent to protect their babies, and saw no one. So I buried the poor little crow. And within a few moments, a big group of crows silently assembled in a dogwood tree above the little grave. One by one they came down, walked up to where I'd buried the fledgling, then eventually all of them silently flew away. No scolding, no cawing. Silence the entire time. And the very next day.......a second identically sick fledgling crow, the same swollen belly, lay dead within inches of where the first one fell. Once again, I buried the baby crow. And once again, within minutes, a flock of crows arrived silently. They again took turns flying down from the tree to the spot where I buried the second crow, as if to pay their respects, again in total silence. Then they all flew away.

Ethel and Ernest, salmon fishing

Took a ride over the bridge on Wednesday, and there they were. Mama and Papa, one on each side of the bridge, watching for sockeyes to come swimming by. There are record numbers of salmon passing through the Ballard Locks this summer, headed into Lake Washington, then up one of the rivers to spawn. So there should be ample food for the eaglets during this final push before they fledge within the next few weeks. Locals voted on names for the pair, and came up with Eleanor and Beatrice. Great names. However.......with the known habit of first hatched female eaglets summarily disposing of second hatched eaglets, it is all too possible that at least one of the eaglets is a male?? Oh well, what's in a name. Construction on the 520 Bridge has gone full scale on the west end of the span lately. There are multiple huge cranes and barges, boats coming and going, jack hammers rat-a-tatting, and workers in throngs everywhere. But I suppose that these eagles who make their home on a freeway bridge above hundreds of thousands of cars weekly can take such nuisance in their strides?

Ethel assigned to hunting duty

Apparently it is Ethel's turn to catch a salmon, or a seagull, or a full nest of baby crows for the eaglets today. She was perched upon the light standard about a half hour ago, watching for an opportunity to catch a nice meal. She's looking a bit less unkempt I think.....no sign of the tangled feathers on her back side that we'd seen several times recently. The eagles must be loving this summer weather! Unlike the two thirds of the country that is sweltering in heat and humidity we are basking in 80 degrees and 10% humidity with more of the same forecast for the long term outlook. It may nudge up near 90 next week, but without humidity...and with our lovely cool nights in the 60's....it is pretty peachy around here.

Eagle society is matriarchal

Spotted ever-so ernest Ernest this morning at about 8 am, watching for something good to bring to his hungry eaglets for breakfast. And about those eaglets. According to experts, had the first hatched been a female, the second hatched would have quickly been eliminated by the prima donna. That's what happens in eagle world. Consequently I believe that the first hatched of the pair of eaglets is likely a male, and it is anyone's guess about eaglet #2. But the supremacy of the females in eagle society is emphasized by the fact that the females are invariably larger than the males. And while Eddie was approximately equal in stature to Ethel, note that her new mate....the one she flew off to conquer as her new life-long partner....is a head and near shoulder smaller than she is. Not to say she over-powered sweet Ernest....I doubt that was necessary considering what a beautiful girl she is and all....it is interesting that she picked for her new mate someone she could push around if it ever became necessary. I doubt she ever quite forgave Eddie for disappearing. It may have left her with a bit of a hard edge. Anyway, the pair appear to be great providers for their youngsters, and all too soon those eaglets will go off to find their own way in the world. I'll keep watch, and also will continue to follow the Eva and Albert blog to keep up to date on our feathered family.

Ernest catches a seagull for dinner

The Ava and Albert blogger has published some wonderful photos of Ernest after he catches a seagull in mid-air recently to bring home to his hungry eaglets. Apparently it was quite a journey from conquest to aerie, as Ernest was initially chased by some jealous crows (who felt the seagull should somehow be their dinner.) He eventually lost his pursuers but it was no easy task carrying a seagull back to the nest and Ernest had to stop twice en route. However, once back home, the youngsters were delighted with their dear old dad's offering.....salmon can be soooooo boring when you get it for 30 meals in a row.. Currently there is a drive locally to name the eaglets. Nobody knows the gender yet, but a few suggestions have been offered. Since the last update from the A & A blogger, Ava has been subtly changed to Eva. I'm not too worried about whether we call our friends Ethel and Ernest, or Eva and Albert. Nor what we might call the little ones. It is just pure joy to have these magnificent birds in our neighborhood. My sympathies to the seagull family.

Back in town, & all is well with our eagles

We were out of town for most of the month of June, and had no chance to check on our feathered friends. But on Friday Ethel was on a light standard on the 520 Bridge on my round trip into the city. She still has kind of a disheveled look about her....the feathers on her upper back look a bit caterwampus. But maybe that's the way it gets for a mom with twin eaglets in the nest. Today is July 1, and according to my inexact math the eaglets could fledge by the end of the month. What a treat if we are able to see them in the air. I will check with the Ava and Albert blogger to see what he observes. But the most important thing is that the little eagle family appears to be flourishing at this point. It will have been one year on August 2 that our beloved Eddie went to Rainbow Bridge....we still miss you Eddie.