EAGLE ON DUTY

The time has come. There is an eagle on the aerie twenty-four hours a day, every day. There is no break for weekends, holidays, or holy days. I caught this photo (from 1/2 mile away) of what you can see of the eagle in the nest and couldn’t help but sing, to the tune of Patti Page’s version of “How Much is that Doggie in the Window,” sing it with me…how cute is that eagle on the ne-est? How cute can that e-eagle be? How cute is that eagle on the ne-est? As cu-ute, as cu-ute can be!



Now keep in mind that this eagle’s body length is between 28 and 38 inches, with a wingspan of between 66 and 90 inches, weighing about 12-14 pounds. With eagles (and hawks), the female is larger than the male, so figure this little lassie is close to the higher number of these estimates. Now compare her size with the nest in which she is sitting, and how she looks so petite in there. You can imagine the scale of the nest.

So, we’ve got a bird on a roost, and we’ll have some chicks in the basket in 30-something days. After a few weeks of their hatching, we may see eaglets popping about near the top of the nest. Until then, we have to be satisfied with seeing the top of an adult eagle’s head and singing a song.