"NO, I AM YOUR FATHER or GOING, GOING GONE"

Bald Eagle (Adult & Immature) - 8 Photos

The young eagle had already positioned herself on a favourite branch (Photo #1), chirping away to her parent who was perching in a tree across the river. Having taken a few still shots, I glanced across to see that the adult had moved to a tree with dead branches overhanging the water and thought nothing of it. Both trees are favourite perches for the male parent.

And then the youngster began screeching & flapping excitedly (Photo #2) so I focused in on her & shortened the length of the lens. I believed her sibling was close by and was potentially flying in to sit on the same branch. And then from one side, in flew the adult. After some aggressive wing flapping & screeching by the youngster, both parent & offspring settled down. I then turned to my attention to the tree just behind me where more chirping was coming from. Just above me, located on a tree limb screened by small branches was the second youngster. 

Just like people, animal siblings can compete for attention from their parents so I thought this was just another case of vying for attention. 

After the first few shots at the point of landing, I had quickly viewed the initial photos on the small camera screen, to ensure the settings were good. The first thought that had come to mind was the line from the Star Wars movie, "The Empire Strikes Back" where Darth Vader utters that line, "No, I am your father".  Believe it was the sudden appearance of the eagle next to his offspring, with that flourish of wings, that stuck in my brain.

And then it had been immediately back to shooting, hopefully not having missed any of the action.

Once the eagles had flown to other destinations, I took the opportunity to review the shots taken in more detail, crossing fingers that at least some were in focus & the lighting was correct. At first glance, I missed the narrow white object under the adult's feet, dismissing it as part of the branch. Then having taken a longer look, I knew what all the excitement was about. The male adult had flown over and landed next to his offspring with a fish, probably a White Fish (Photo #3 and Photo #4) and hence, the sudden appearance of the second youngster.

And, unfortunately, this is where Part 2 of the title comes into play. In the transition of handing over the freshly caught fish from adult to youngster, the inexperienced eagle did not have adequate talon grip on the fish and it was "going, going, gone" onto the forest floor (Photos #5 through 7). Both looked down, reactions somewhat different. From the immature, a great deal of screeching & wing movement & from her parent, well if I was going to project human reactions onto an eagle, it was the equivalent of rolling ones eyes & resigning himself to another fishing expedition immediately.

So the parent flew off, leaving his youngster who had either tried to cover up her "slip of the fish" by grooming or had a quick recovery, safe in the knowledge that her parents would ensure another meal would be forthcoming (Photo #8). 

I'm certain this wasn't the first time, nor will it be that last time this will happen with young wildlife, learning the skills that will take them into adulthood. But it's not like, wildlife parents can make a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up another meal. :) 

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7

PHOTO #8