Stories from Elders 3

How Baby Eagles Learn to Fly

by

Carole Blodgett

When eagle mate they mate for life and when an eagle lays an egg it is a family responsibility. From the time the egg is laid until it hatches the egg is never left alone. The father will go and bring food home for the mother so she can care for the egg. She sits on it to keep it warm, turning it over now and then to keep it warm all over. She uses her body to shade it from the sun so it does not get too hot. Occasionally the mother will go for food leaving the father to guard and care for the egg. He cares for the egg the same way the mother does.

Once the egg hatches the mother and father will begin taking turns staying with the newly hatched eggs. Still the babies are never left alone. If you were to see a new born eagle you might laugh at how it looks, skinny with no real feathers just this fluff”, but the mother and father eagles are very proud of them. In their minds they see them as how they will be when they are grown up; strong, elegant, graceful, amazingly good fliers and hunters. The same way new born human parents fell and see about their newborn children.

The parent that goes to hunt brings home food for the babies. The bones of the fish and baby turtle shells become “toys” for the baby eagles to play with as they learn to use their talons to hold and turn the bones and turtle shells. Learning how to use their beaks to get all the food out of the turtle shell is not an easy thing for them to master. As they grow stronger and bigger they also begin to get their feathers. The parents now fly just above or sit near the nest watching all the time but allowing their young some independence. Much like your parents allowing you to play outside but keeping watch from there to be sure you are safe.

Once they have their flight feathers they are called fledglings. It takes about 75 days after being born before they are ready to fly. One day the mother comes home and cleans house throwing all the bones and turtle shell “toys” out of the nest. Then she leaves and the fledglings get bored with nothing to play with so they go to the edge of the nest to see if they can get their toys. For the first time they see how high they are and begin to feel the wind against their feathers. Frightened they return to the safety of the nest. The mother begins to break down the sides of the nest making it more uncomfortably.

As the fledgling become more comfortable they begin to watch their parents soaring above. They begin to stretch out their wings and feel the wind against them. They watch their parents carefully as the fly and soar above them. One day Mom brings home a really good lunch and then she pushes them from the nest one at a time. As the baby falls, squawking all the way down, the mother flies near. Just before the fledgling gets to the ground she flies under the baby and catches it and returns it to the nest. This will happen over and over again until the fledging begins to fly. With time and practice the fledgling will learn to soar with its parents. The parents will fly proud of how their little “fluffs” have grown into that eagle that they saw in their mind when it was first born. As you grow up you will see many similarities between you and the baby eagle. You may have already seen your parents throw away your toys because you out grew them. One day they will begin to “tear down your nest” and make it uncomfortable as they prepare for you to “fly away”. None of this is done because the parents of the baby eagles do not love their babies. It is done because they love them and want them to become the best eagle they can be.


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