Subject: [Tweeters] Lacey Eglet "Emp" has fledged.
Date: Jul 29 20:41:03 2012
From: ray holden - rayleeholden at yahoo.com


When I arrived at 3001 Hogum Bay Rd. just after 8 AM it took several minutes to locate Emp because he was in a tree 50ft to the left of the nest and had to have flown to get there so I missed his actual ?maiden flight. ?Shortly after I found him he got agitated and began wing flapping and making short hoping flights between the limbs of the same tree and at 8:20 he flew to another tree that I?paced?off as 125 ft away and began calling again. ?Shortly thereafter another?juvenile?eagle flew in and began circling the ponds at low altitude diving on rabbits of which there are many. ?After several?unsuccessful?passes the new eagle landed in another fir and they did a lot of calling back and forth. ?After several more?unsuccessful?dives the other eagle lefts toward the NE. ?It appeared to me to be only slightly farther along in the process than Emp. ?While entertaining his flying was awkward and?technique was bad. ?Emp's parents sit on the top
of a tree where they can depart rapidly and dive on the rabbits catching them completely unawares. One drop, one rabbit. ?This young fellow's flying around all over and diving from low altitude just gave them time to see him coming and hop into the brush. ?

As I was walking back toward the nest tree from the western side of the ponds where I went to better watch the new bird hunt I saw a Cooper's Hawk perched on a lower limb of one of the fir trees in line with the eagle nest tree. ?We see lots of Red Wings but that's a first Cooper Hawk for that location to me. ?

Ten minutes after the other?juvenile?(and the Cooper Hawk) left Emp flew back to the nest and was sitting quietly there when I left. ?Presumably his flights will get longer and at some point he will begin following the parents out to hunt. ?I saw one of the adults circling around to the west when I first arrived but it paid no attention to Emp's progress. ? Anyway, now if you visit Emp has flown the coop so to speak and could be anywhere. ?Today's flights were short but thrilling to observe. ?By the time I left he had made it farther than the Wright Brothers first flight and that turned out pretty good huh?
?
Ray Holden
Olympia, WA

Life is for the birds.