TO ALL THE CAMPFIRE FRIENDS who enjoyed my account of the fledging and maiden voyages of eaglets
TO ALL THE CAMPFIRE FRIENDS who enjoyed my account of the fledging and maiden voyages of eaglets Thing One and Thing Two, a little update. They continue to do well—which is a big deal as most Bald Eagle eaglet mortality occurs in those first few flights. It is not easy flying for the first time. And it is even harder landing! (As we have witnessed first hand). One year an eaglet’s initial landing was in the bird bath in the cabin’s front yard. He (she) looked HUGE—and you should have heard/seen the consternation on the part of the other normal-sized citizens of the local bird-world. Yikes!
But here this week, Thing One and Thing Two continue to flourish. Having their nest so close (only 60 yards from the cabin) we know or have learned quite a bit about eagles over the last 6 years. But this morning Kathy and I were on the deck watching, listening and observing. And we suddenly wondered… we had noticed from the start that one eaglet had a higher-pitched voice than the other, and one lower. But how to tell which was which? So of course we googled it. (As an aside, I still remember when I would have a simple, factual question as a writer, and would take half a day to drive into St. Cloud to the Public Library, find a parking place, walk another block or two to the library, go upstairs, pore through the micro-film and Dewey Decimal system records—which I never completely understood—try to find the right shelves, then the right books, then search through them, and then finally—MAYBE—find the answer to my question. I felt sort of proud of myself at this point—for my dedication as a writer—but sheeesh!)
Anyway, in googling (such a stupid word) we found in a matter of seconds that female eagles, being larger (which we already knew) have a lower voice, because of a larger syrinx. Makes sense. And then we knew that Thing One—with the lower voice—had been the first eaglet to fledge—and had been pestering her brother Thing Two for the past week or two—to ‘Hurry up! Come on—fly! Get out of that nest!!’ You’re an eagle not a chicken!!!’
Does that matter? Knowing which was which? No. But it is fun to know. That the ‘girl’ was first and bravest (or more advanced) and the boy second. At least Kathy took a certain amount of pleasure in it.
I remember, years and years ago, before I became aware and smart, being chased around a campfire in Quetico Provincial Park by a young woman wielding a frying pan (right, Marlene?) for playfully referring to her as ‘chickie.’ Would I do that now? Are you nuts????!!
So I close with fondness for both our eaglets. And with much respect to all female eaglets and eagles, of ALL species everywhere. You are amazing!!!