Big Bear🦅Dinner Is Served🐡O Spirit, Where Art Though❓👀Is It Dispersal❓Only Time Will Tell😊2022-06-25 

Happy soaring, indeed.

🥲

I understand your concern. It would have been nice to see Spirit bring in something she hunted herself. But I’m not very worried for her. She has been very good at aggressively claiming what J&S bring in, and will likely be just as good at poaching from other predators.

@@lawrencetoth3251 Thank you for that yeah just would’ve liked to seen it but we only see what we can on the cameras and she’s smart and if she’s hungry I’m sure she’ll learn pretty fast and I fell in love with her thank you for your response

I'm right there with you in thought. I am also hoping that her first real catch would be brought to the nest to enjoy. Who knows, like you said, maybe she's just out looking for some other fun and rentals (lol)

@@tammic.a.t.crazyaunttammi9275 She only just fledged 3 weeks ago and was still ferociously dogging every move by her parents, especially for her meals...then just vanishes.🙏🏼💙

@@takemetothesea6238 🥺

@@takemetothesea6238 this makes me nervous too - is this normal for an eaglet to disappear this quickly? Like maybe she’d be gone progressively more and more - not so abruptly? Sigh….seems like she fledged only yesterday!! Blessings to you, sweet Spirit

@@MadameM. According to experts, and as Cali Condor stated, "Spirit is expected to disperse on her Grand Journey about 4-12 weeks after fledging. She fledged 25 days ago." I guess I'm just noticing how Spirit still seemed very dependent on her folks for food, flight & landing instructions, hunting & fishing, life lessons, etc. Right after losing her fish in the roost tree, then having daddy go and fetch another one for her just sort of adds up to not being ready for complete independence yet. I don't know. Guess we' see.🙏🏼🦅

@PaulacSmith: You took the words right out of my mouth..👍🏻👍🏻 Bon appetit, Mom!

I feel the same. Not sure if she’s ready yet either..I’m having bad empty nest syndrome 😭😭😭

@@dancingkay2604 maybe her and dad went out on an adventure. I hope so? Something just doesn't seem right I'm sad 🥺

@@stillMimi123 yes, I’m praying 🙏🏼 she’s fine!

I'm having anxiety about this. I absolutely take this to heart. I guess I watched her too long. I feel like she is either on an adventure and has been with dad or something has happened especially the last few times we seen her those dang hawks were bothering her, I could tell (well in my opinion) . There's no way I see her leaving just like that. I'm not an eagle expert but I watched her enough to know she's loud and still relied on her parents to bring the food. I'm sorry but it's heartbreaking to even watch anymore. I'm an extreme empath lol & I think too much too. I just miss that little girl 💛🦅💛

@@dancingkay2604 me too 💛🙏💛

I believe they disperse before they master hunting, relying on stealing food, road kill and other means. Learning to hunt takes a long time of trial and error and is gradually learned. I never expected her to be proficient in hunting before she dispersed. It's instinct calling her to fly away and explore and to find her own way. It was the same way with other eaglets fledging from this nest. They hang around for a while being fed and then leave. You don't know when that will happen.

Hello Lea Kennedy ' They instinctively when they feel they're ready. Until then they will be fed by the parents (usually the male). Stephanie

@@SW13333 Thanks Stephanie. Sure will miss her, but wish her the absolute best.

I'm not an expert, but from what I know... Adult eagles use the nest for child bearing/rearing. They might have a backup nest around. They normally roost in trees on branches. Eagles can live for decades and do bond for life. As I understand it though, Shadow was persistent and pushed Jackie's first mate out of the picture. Females are larger and Spirit seems to fit the bill. If eagles are banded, it's done when they are younger and they might take measurements to determine the sex. Internet: "Bald eagles exhibit size dimorphism; females on the average about 1/3 larger than males. Data compiled by Mark Stalmaster (1987 - "The Bald Eagle" pg. 16) found that 2 size measurements, beak depth and hallux (toe claw) length, show the greatest separation in sexes. These measurements can be used in the following equation: sex = (bill depth x 0.392) + (hallux length x 0.340) -27.694 (measurements in millimeters). If the answer is positive, the eagle is a female. If the answer is negative, the eagle is a male." Internet on hunting: "Young eagles from wild nests develop their hunting skills on their own, but spend considerable time after they fledge watching their parents and undoubtedly learning by watching what the adults do. The actual skills involved are learned by trial and error, I'm sure. Much of the hunting skill (or at least the drive to hunt) is innate, as our hacked eagles were fledged into an environment without adults around to "teach" or "show" these young birds. Yet, these birds, again through trial and error, learned to hunt for themselves and survive. We felt it was important to continue to provide food at our hacking towers after the eaglets fledged, to give them a source of food for as long as they needed it. Eventually, each eagle at it's own pace, these young birds stopped using our offerings and began foraging on their own. Similarly in the wild, the adult parents will continue to provide food for some time after fledging, while the newly flighted birds hone not only their hunting skills, but there flying skills. On average, I would say it takes about 4-12 weeks for young eagles to start hunting successfully. True, fully refined, specialized hunting skills, probably take years to develop."