Re: Thur 5/28/09 6-7:30PM

Posted by Trisha on
URL: http://bald-eagles-of-broward-county-florida.17.s1.nabble.com/Thur-5-28-09-6-7-30PM-tp2991329p2993999.html

When Carolyn and I rescued a Cattle Egret with a broken wing and took it to Flamingo Gardens we had a long conversation with Mike, who I believe is involved with the birds of prey there. We were asking him many questions about our eagle family. He had a wealth of knowledge on the subject, both professionally and from growing up on a lake in central FL where there were multiple bald eagle nests visible from his home.

He said that his experience is that juveniles can remain in a nest area for over a year...based on the levels of their food sources and their ability to hunt. He described how the juveniles have to master the skill of using a tendon in their feet to "lock" their talons to catch and hold their prey. Tom had described seeing a juvenile on the nest doing exactly that as the watchers thought that something was stuck to its foot. He also described how some juveniles didn't take to hunting as quickly as others. The adults had to bring "not quite dead prey" and try to get the juveniles to finish the job by pushing them very aggressively. Needless to say...it was very interesting to hear him talk about eagle behavior in such detail.

I guess that as it relates to nature it is hard to assume anything with absolute certainty. We are fortunate in having such caring experts like Brian Mealey, Lynda White, of course, you Ken, and others to advise and educate us about the best paths to follow to protect the eagles and their habitat.

As for our rescued Cattle Egret, "Lenny" is now a resident of Flamingo Gardens free flight aviary as his wing had calcified to the point that trying to set it wasn't the best option.