Hornsby News
Written by Doug Carrick:
On June 24, I was phoned by a group of "eagle people" visiting Hornby Island wondering if they could meet me. "Where are you?" I asked. They were just outside the gate. I stepped out the house and there they were. They came from England, California, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario and parts of BC and call themselves "EAGLES R US". It was a real fun meeting and the eaglet in the nest put on a show for them - sitting up on the edge of the nest and extending its wings to a full six feet. I'm always surprised at the speed of their growth.
The eaglet has been fed almost exclusively on Midshipmen, nine inch tidal pool fish which are amazingly common along our beaches.Twice the eagles have hooked herring from the sea and a few days ago one of our eagles caught a large fish near the shore. It struggled for five minutes just to keep hold of the fish, but finally swam it to shore. It was a two foot dog fish - a shark-like fish and a powerful swimmer.
Today the eaglet was vigorously flapping its wings and jumping a few inches into the air, thoroughly enjoying the exercise. It is now 66 days since hatching and should begin flying at 85 days - in just another 19 days. That gives it another two weeks to strengthen its wings and gain experience jumping around the nest and branches.
I was hoping a belated brother or sister would make an appearance, but am now resigned to having a single eaglet only. Nonetheless, much better than in the previous two years.
OK and now while you wait for news of another Branching/Fledging, Ale challenges you to beat his score on this fun game of fly swatter. I am sure many of you are so glad I have reposted this link.
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