A tribute to the DC eagle family… the story of this eagle family preserved in images, and unexpected lessons learned.

There is a collective empty nest syndrome being experienced by thousands of people from around the globe who have witnessed eaglets in the U.S. National Arboretum (the DC eaglets) grow from tiny hatchlings to 3 ft. tall fledglings with 6 ft. wingspans. When one of the eaglets fledged all-of-a-sudden (“Free”/Freedom) on June 5, the remaining sibling (“Bert”/Bertie/Liberty) stood motionless at the other edge of the nest  for quite a while, looking stunned (“What just happened/where did you go?). Bertie subsequently spent little time on the nest he had shared since hatching and wasn’t much interested in food brought to him by his parents. No longer was there a buddy to snuggle with at night, to compete with over food, to jostle with sticks, or to just watch while he flapped his huge wings.

Many lessons have been learned while witnessing close up the daily lives of this wildlife family courtesy of the 24/7 webcam installed for the first time in the U.S. National Arboretum by the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) around a nest 90 ft. up in a Tulip Poplar tree. “The President” (“Mr. P”/Dad) and “The First Lady” (“TFL”/Mom) engineered a remarkable structure that was 6 ft. across and 5 ft. deep. The rapid development of the eaglets (from egg to flying in less than 3 1/2months) was astonishing and a privilege to witness. Who knew that birds had personalities?

Freedom was nicknamed “Miss Piggy” on the AEF Facebook page because she would devour most (and often all) of the food, leaving poor Liberty with crumbs at most and often no food at all. Liberty was the smaller of the two (hatched a few days after Freedom) but he was cunning and knew how to get his needs met (food!) at the right time by letting his sibling eat first then sneaking around (or under) and stealing the remains. Lesson: learn how to get what you want despite the obstacles and don’t give up!

I witnessed the eaglets demonstrating fear when they cowered their heads as a fish brought in by a parent for a meal jumped/flopped in the nest. Bertie also cowered his head at times when his sibling pecked at him for trying to eat ‘her’ food. Despite Freedom’s rough ways, at the end of the day the two snuggled together and used each other for pillows (and sometimes groomed each other). Lesson: at the end of the day, despite squabbles, arguments, not getting along, just love each other! You’ll both feel better!

Another theme I witnessed throughout the development of these eaglets was the steadfast dedication of both parents to their babies. Pouring rain? No problem–mom became a ‘mombrella’ with the eaglets tucking their little bodies under her protective feathers and chest to keep dry. No worries that mom was drenched (uber bad hair day). Freedom (Miss Piggy/Free) continued to try to protect herself from the rain under her mom’s body even when she grew so large that only her head was covered (leaving poor Bertie out in the rain by himself).

Both parents watched the nest from perches in a distant tree (guard duty/babysitting). Throughout the day the eaglets gazed back in their direction, watching them. When younger, one of the parents was also always perched in the nesting tree on a nearby branch. If a threat entered the area, mom or dad flew down right away to defend and protect (no 911 calls–they just appeared on the scene even if they had been perched and asleep in a distant tree).

The eaglets knew their parents were there for them–they knew they were provided for and cared for and protected. Lesson learned: how important it is for a child to know they can count on their parents. These babies are 90 ft off the ground in a nest with no food aside from what the parents bring them… and they know they can count on them even if mom and dad are in the distance or off hunting, even when a day goes by without a meal delivery because the hunting wasn’t good. As one of the chat moderators said so well: “The (eagle) parents are good at doing their jobs, and keeping the eaglets and fledglings healthy and prepared for life is their primary job”.

In addition to the parents being great food providers they did housekeeping. Who knew that nests had cleaning days? When the eaglets were younger the parents would ‘fluff up’ the nesting material a few days each week to provide drainage and aeration (and clean out bits of food etc). They also were continuously bringing in larger sticks which they strategically placed around the perimeter of the nest–crib rails–so the eaglets wouldn’t fall out. Comedy was provided when an eaglet got covered up with nesting material or large sticks were inadvertently dropped on their little bodies.

Food was a common theme in the AEF FB group. “Did they (Bertie in particular) eat today?” was often asked. The Facebook group learned the language: “Bertie has a good ‘crop'” which indicated he has something similar to a full belly. Or, discussion centered around who ate the tail of the fish, who stole the food from the other etc. But day in and day out, mom and dad did their best to make sure their babies were fed. When the eaglets were newly hatched, the huge beaks of the parents managed to tear off tiny pieces of fish to place in the even tinier beaks of the eaglets. When the eaglets got older the parents began dropping off the fish and standing there while Freedom and Liberty waited to be fed, but then the parents flew off (sorry, time for you to learn to do it yourself!). Lesson demonstrated: tough love–learn to do it yourself.

This blog began near the ‘end’ of the story where the first eaglet (Freedom) fledged, leaving the second eaglet (Liberty) on his own in an empty nest and the internet audience with a feeling of sadness (although also with some joy for the new life and adventures of the fledglings–after all, that nest was getting pretty small). Another lesson witnessed: dealing with the loss of a constant companion you have known your entire life. Liberty’s world changed in an instant. Change happens (often unexpectedly); life moves on.

These entertaining rascals (aka Freedom/Free/Piggy and Liberty/Bert/Bertie or Laurel and Hardy as I nicknamed them) have been a joy to watch during their brief journey from tiny featherless balls to regal creatures with enormous wingspans flying across the green canopies in the Arboretum. Thanks to the American Eagle Foundation and all of their sponsors for this amazing project, the chat moderators, and especially to the camera operators who did a great job of providing exquisite closeup and distant webcam shots 24/7.

Above all, I come away from these few months of watching the eaglets grow and develop and being lovingly cared for by their parents with a sense of awe for these creatures. Birds are no longer just birds that fly by: I now notice their wings and wonder how they learned to fly, what their development was like and how their day is…

Story update: three days after Freedom fledged she returned to the nest. Surprisingly, the two siblings didn’t want to have anything to do with each other then. A few days later Liberty took his big leap from the nest with remarkable ease and grace. He returned a day later and since then the two eaglets have become buddies again–hanging out next to each other on the same branch and keeping an eye on each other, still competing for food, and even flying together. They currently perch away from the nest and return to feed. Until they are gone for good, which could be any day.

Below is a slideshow of some culled images documenting Liberty and Freedom’s development from eaglet to fledgling in a short span of time. I hope you enjoy witnessing the transformation and appreciate the beauty of these stunning creatures as much as I have.

© 2016 American Eagle Foundation, EAGLES.ORG