MOVE OVER OSPREYS!! WE LIKE IT HERE.

THIS ADVENTURE BEGAN in early February with the excitement of our  GIBA Eaglet poking its fuzzy little head out of the nest.   

                                                                                                               Pat Wright

We watched the parents providing a good home  and healthy meals..and relentlessly guarding and protecting their youngster

photo by Don Miller

 Eaglet stretched and learned to flap its wings.   

Then baby learned about hopping AND flapping.  And then hopping, flapping, leaping, and finally, Eaglet lift-off!!!  We knew that this was the most dangerous part of a young Eaglet's life. Reports say that only 50% of Eaglets survive their first flight. 

But then we had the Osprey ( and pesky crows). It was a Battle of the Raptors. 

Don Miller photo-- baby was able to fly after the 6-Osprey attack

 Our local wildlife expert and heroine, Blanche , was called in after one horrific flight which ended with a  downed Eagle. 

The Ospreys pestered, harangued, harassed and abused the eaglet in every way possible.   An entire Island Community, bridge construction and engineering personnel, GIBA staff, Charlotte County officials, FWC, various environmental friends, and family-- all were rooting for our Eaglet's success .  We watched as Eaglet learned to balance on the edge of the nest, cling to branches, and bop the Ospreys right back on the head! Baby did a lot of eating, scratching, grooming and sightseeing along the way. We worried and rallied when there were storms, high winds, Ospreys and other obstacles that came into our Eagles' life.. But our little Eagle family overcame all the odds and made it a true success story on Boca Grande. 

Baby successfully fledged by the second week of May. Parents left soon thereafter.
November can't come soon enough. (Fair Warning, Ospreys!)
 Let's hope we get to do this again!

Good Bye Nest

Good Bye Bridge

Safe Travels, GIBA Eagles

PS.....BREAKING NEWS!!!! THE OSPREY WAS SPOTTED IN THE EAGLE NEST YESTERDAY!!! 

GIBA EAGLES IN REVIEW PART 6; Romantic Dinner with a Side of Revenge

EMPTY NESTERS HAVE A ROMANTIC LAST MEAL

photo by Pat Wright

What a gallant fella our Bald Eagle dad is. 

Dad and Mom, celebrating a job well done-- specifically, raising an eaglet in the most challenging of situations, with all manner of drama and setbacks.

I arrived to Mom all snug in her nest.

Dad comes sailing in

 Dad stands by, on the edge of the nest, as Mom has a long leisurely, dinner. Such manners!

 Mom's well fed now, and flies off

 Dad takes a Victory Lap around the nest area

 And then he gets to thinking.....  Baby taken care of, Mom taken care of, I think there's an Osprey with my name on it...

 It's the first time I saw the Eagles start it!

He flew down to Camp Osprey, in the trees southwest of the nest, and he flushed that Osprey right out! Fish and all.

A long chase ensued, up the Gulf, over the bridge, past the railroad trestle, down the Bay and into the trees.

 I did not see it happen, but somehow, 7 short minutes later, papa is in his nest, enjoying a feast!!

 Take That, Osprey!

 Such a handsome fella.....sigh.......

GIBA EAGLES IN REVIEW PART 5

GENTLE PERSUASION AND OSPREYS

Parents are trying a bit of gentle persuasion, and when Eaglet feels especially brave, it moves out to trees in the nest area

 One of baby's favorite spots-- a million dollar view of the Gulf, the Bay, the Bridge, the railroad trestle, the boaters.....

 This is another great spot, just 3 trees south of the nest

However, it's also the perfect spot for an osprey to come by and bop a baby on the head

 And that's just what happened!

There have been lots of practice flights lately and Team Eaglet has kindly allowed me to share some of their highly superior photos:

Thanks to Don Miller and Pat Wright:

 Baby being chased by Osprey below

 Osprey doing the chasing

 Baby may be thinking about fighting back-- look at those mighty talons!

 flying Eaglet!!

photos below by Don Miller:

 Flying baby, napping baby

 Gorgeous! I think he knew he was posing for a portrait below.

NEXT: Parents celebrate a job well done

GIBA Eaglet in Review Part 4 An Eaglet's Gotta Eat!

It's all about the food

There's a lot of eating going on in this nest. Parents  still bring the food into the nest and stay with baby or on a nearby branch while Eaglet eats. Parents have even taken a few steps back-- baby wants to be fed like, well, a baby!

This is what happens when parents arrive without food.

 This is WITH food. Baby flings itself headfirst in the nest when it's really happy or really miserable

Before the all- out Osprey War started, parents tended to drop food in  the nest and leave within a few minutes.

Baby is now constantly supervised. Parent was doing an interesting thing while on a nearby branch-- it fluffed up into a big fluff ball for a minute or so- there must have been some danger that only parent saw?

Pre-fluff

 Full Fluff

 Unfluff

While parents are still trying to gently encourage Eaglet to be a bit more independent, the Osprey feud continues.

 But Baby is quite happy in the nest, thank you very much.

Waiting for parent to bring some tasty treats

 

Eaglet's Food Happy Dance

 YUM BLOOD AND GUTS!!!

 NO DAD!!! That's my food!

 YIKES! Osprey