Eaglet is Airborne

The youngster has fledged, and the author of Union Bay Watch has excellent photos. He also spotted the young eagle in one of the cottonwoods at the north end of The Arboretum one day last week. Late Wednesday afternoon Ernest was sitting on the 520 light standard, and upon my return trip, around 8:30 PM one of the eagles was circling in that same region above the bridge. Naturally it isn't possible to say for sure at that viewing distance, but I did not spot the brilliant white head of an adult eagle, and it could even have been the offspring! The salmon are running now, so there should be some good hunting for the eagles at this time. Eventually, however, the youngster will head off to new territory and begin a life of its own.

Ethel on Fountain

Twice this past week as we've traversed Lake Washington on the 520 Bridge Ethel has been back after a long absence. Maybe she's been around from time to time, but since March the only eagle we've seen above the 520 has been Ernest. So we now assume that the eaglet has flown. The cycle continues. This long warm summer goes on and on. Sitting on the egg then raising a baby eaglet is a big job, and in the weather we've been seeing, a very hot job. Every time we see this wonderful pair, Ethel and Ernest, we are again thankful that Ethel somehow convinced this very handsome male to return with her to the nest that she and Eddie (mainly Eddie) built in the tall fir over the golf course.

Make Way for Goslings

We saw a sight right out of the children's book Make Way for Ducklings the other day. A large family of Canada Geese was crossing one of the busiest intersections in Bellevue, on the cross-walk, with the 'Walk' light. There was a parent at the front and at the back of the long line of about 11 or 12 baby geese. They were all well feathered and turning dark, so several weeks old. But where they were headed, as well as where they were coming from is a mystery. They had obviously just crossed the I-405 Freeway Overpass. Perhaps from the location of Lake Bellevue, about a block behind Whole Foods on the other side of the highway. But once on the West side of 405 they turned north on 112th Avenue. They may eventually have been heading for Lake Washington, but if so they had a heck of a long march. There really is not any other body of water around in the direction they were heading. I did check online to see if anyone else reported the sight, but was actually relieved not to see anything. It gives me a bit of peace that the little family somehow made it to where they were going. Wish I'd had a cell phone with me to take a photo and didn't think to pull out my iPad mini for the chore. Dang.

Eaglet....Practicing Flying

Sorry to ignore this blog for such a long period of time. We have seen very little of the eagles this summer aside from Ernest hunting from the light post on the 520 Bridge at times. But now we hear from the Union Bay blogger that the single eaglet in the nest this summer is eating the parents out of house and home and is now practicing his flying skills by flapping his wings, rising up out of the nest, and back down. To eat some more. He is now larger than Ernest, and perhaps larger than his very large mother, Ethel, at this point. As it is getting on towards mid-July the youngster will soon fly. I will keep you informed.