Eaglet - Flight Prep

For the last week or two Doug Schurman has been watching, photographing and taking video of the Eaglets' progress. First of all here is a huge "Thank You!" to Doug for his excellent work. 

Doug has seen that the parents are still returning to the nest...

and they are still involved in the housekeeping.

The eaglets continue to have the usual sibling disagreements.

However the most interesting aspect of Doug's work is his documentation of the last stages of flight preparation. Beatrice, the older eaglet, has been working to develop her wing strength. 

Repeatedly.

She has even been practicing lifting off...

 for very short hops.

Her feathers are long enough, her wings are the size of her parents and each day she grows stronger...

as Eleanor watches and waits for her turn. 

It could be any day now that Beatrice takes her first real flight.

To see Doug's video of this process follow the link below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlebirdman/7642122802/in/photostream

Keep one eye on the sky as you pass over 520 or visit Foster Island. If you see a large dark eagle with interesting and unique white markings under the wings, you may be seeing Beatrice's maiden flight. She could take to the air anytime in the next few days or weeks. We will all just have to wait and see.

Thank you to Gail Hayes for being the first to photograph and point out the eaglets' winged work out.

Thanks again to Doug as well.

Larry

Odds and Ends:

Here is a photo of a Hawaiian Pueo or Short-eared Owl taken this week on Haleakala (at about 7000 feet) in Maui.

This is another photo of a Short-eared Owl (SEO) taken this winter near Stanwood, WA.

The birds are very similar but it is also interesting to see the different patterns and colors of the lighter feathers near the ends of their wings. It makes one wonder how far back these two branches in the family tree diverged. For more about rare and exotic Hawaiian birds see last weeks post at:

http://www.unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2012/07/paradise.html

Here is parting shot from last winter in Stanwood.