The Eaglets Have Landed

All bets are off on the new lifestyle and I can't decide if I am ashamed or thrilled. Being raised Catholic my inclination is to be ashamed, but today I am going for thrilled. As time goes on the shame will come on its own, no need to rush things! I have a new obsession, which has kept me from posting before now. Actually, it has kept me from a lot of things and I am feeling cautious about saying what it is as I don't want to be responsible for anyone losing their job or giving up their healthy lifestyle.

This new fascination dovetails nicely with my last post because it is about eagles. I was watching the news and they were talking about an eagles nest that has 24X7 live streaming. With my new found affinity for birding I thought this was brilliant! I don't have to walk around, carry binoculars or hang with other birders. I can just sit at my desk and watch this amazing eagle family.

She starts her day as any other mother would, gets off the nest and counts the kids to make sure they are all still there. You can almost see a trace of a smile in her eyes as nudges them around with her beak and gets them ready for breakfast. Her nest is very handy, she has a several fish sitting at the edge of her 6' domain, 80' up in the air. The most amazing piece is that she never leaves, as the days go by you can see her start to get a bit crabby, just sitting all day long. Sometime she tidies up the place by rearranging the grass and sticks. I haven't seen this yet, but she must dump the garbage at some point.

My favorite part is when the father arrives. He always has a fish in his talons and you can almost read her mind as he lands on the nest and she squawks "Where the hell have you been?" He says, " Sorry dear, had a hard time catching this fish, but I got him!" He is so hoping to please her.

Her response? "Fish again?? You know I need some red meat if I am going to keep the kids warm, can't you find a squirrel?" Dad's eyes flash and he responds, "Nice... I bust my beak trying to bring you some fresh, healthy food and this is what I get? You think these fish just jump into my talons???" She realizes she has gone too far and in an effort to change the course of the conversation she gets up and shows him the kids. "They are doing very well don't you think" (i.e. aren't I an amazing mother?). Dad cocks his head to the side and give them a close inspection, finally he asks, "when are they going to get some feathers?"

This goes on all day, they actually do appear to have conversations and now that the babies are several days old they are starting to squirm out from under her. Myself and over 100,000 people tune in daily to watch the drama unfold, it is a lovely way to pass a bit of time as I wait for spring to arrive. Check the site at your own risk: http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles