12-13-2023 Trust The Eagles
Tuesday evening, Jackie and Shadow were on their regular routine, stopping by the nest at dusk for a few minutes just before bedtime. They both tinkered with some sticks though Shadow seemed more interested in nibbling on Jackie's feathers than doing any actual work… When Jackie hopped to the back porch to decide which tree she would roost in… Shadow scampered up and cut in front of her! Jackie boinked him on the head to remind him she was there first. Nevertheless, Shadow headed out before Jackie and got first choice of his roosting spot.
We were pondering why the eagles seem to be moving a bit slow this season… not visiting the nest for longer periods, they have slowed down on stick deliveries and no fluff so far. Hmmm maybe it’s the weather… daytime temperatures have been warmer, we have had mostly sunny days and no snow yet. We have usually seen the first snow of winter by now.
Or maybe it’s not the weather…
Wednesday, either one or both eagles were at the nest for a total of over 3 ½ hours! Each of them showed up with nice crops, maybe they had a nice fish lunch lakeside earlier in the day and needed some relaxation to let it settle.
Jackie perched on the front porch and gave us an opportunity for some beautiful close ups… When Shadow arrived, he did the same and stayed out on the front porch for over an hour. While Shadow was doing his thing out front, Jackie decided to test out the nest and pancaked for over 40 minutes. When Jackie finally got up, they had a short discussion and Jackie hopped to a side branch. Shadow did not waste any time coming into the nest and seemed to be checking every inch of the nest for an egg… what was she doing all that time if she wasn’t laying an egg?!? They ended the day snuggled up, side by side, chortling goodnight to all…
Today’s lesson-
The eagles do what they want, when they want and have no concern for our human schedules or what we believe they should be doing. Trust the eagles...
Because an eagle’s stomach is small, they have a storage area in the esophagus called the crop. They can store up to two pounds of food in their crop (it looks like Jackie's crop was near maximum capacity). Throughout the day they will do “crop drops”, usually putting their head back and making odd movements with their neck. This allows food to drop down into the digestive system, giving the eagles energy to do the things eagles do.
2024 Calendars are still available in our online shop at: https://www.friendsofbigbearvalley.or...
Thank you all for stopping by to check in on Jackie & Shadow!
Friends of Big Bear Valley https://friendsofbigbearvalley.org/
