First she hovered, and now she’s flying!
Eaglet’s Sunny stretched his wings on Monday, jumping out of the family’s nest for the first time, playing a thrilling fan of a live webcam watching the big bear family of the Eagles, including Mama Jackie, Papa Shadow and brother Gizmo.
The video shows that when the Eagles took off at 10:46am, Gizmo’s head turned and either monitored as a sunny fledgling or made its first flight from the nest.
“It’s exciting to have this beautiful, successful moment, and at the same time, it’s sad that we won’t be able to see her anymore,” said Sandy Steers, executive director of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that runs the 24-hour Nest Cam. “It’s great that she flew the nest well.”
Sometimes, when the Eagles fly through the nest, they don’t come back, Stairs told the Times in a previous interview. However, Sunny didn’t go far.
Late Monday morning, one of the camera operators found themselves perched on the top of a tree near Jeffrey Pine, 145 feet tall, holding the family’s huge nest.
Eaglet Sunny stretched his wings on Monday and first jumped out of the family’s nest. (Big Bear Valley Friend)
What happens next in the new independent Sunny?
Parents Jackie and Shadow will chase after Eaglet, protect her and help her find food in the weeks and months, Steers said. The Eagles do not reach sexual maturity until they are four or five years old.
The first year of life is dangerous for me. According to the American Eagle Foundation, the boy bald eagle has a less than 50% chance of survival thanks to its lack of experience. If they survive, they can live in the wild for 15-30 years.
Meanwhile, Gizmo will be on 13 weeks on Saturday and has not taken off yet.
Eagles usually flap wings at 10-14 weeks of age. Until Monday, both Eagles were practicing to get out on the wood limbs. They also attempted to hover – this happens when the Eagles catch the wind at just the right moment, and it lets their bodies off the ground, but they don’t leave the nest completely.
Sunny is the fourth eagle to escape from Jackie and Shadow. According to Stairs, three people fled after the cameras were installed. She said she was a par on the course. The webcam was installed in 2015 and recorded its first nesting season in 2017.
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