Big Bear eaglets getting ready to fly from nest for first time, wildlife organization says
By Nicole Comstock, Dean Fioresi
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California (KCAL) — The Big Bear eaglets will soon be ready to stretch their wings and fly from their parents’ nest in coming weeks, an exciting but nerve wracking experience for those who have grown attention to the beloved bald eagle family.
Sunny and Gizmo only turn 10-weeks old-next week, but they’re already getting ready to fledge, or fly for the first time. They were born in March, much to the delight of thousands across the nation anxiously waiting to see if the eggs would make it through the winter.
“They’ve been practicing bouncing up and down with their little wings,” said Sandy Steers, a biologist and the Executive Director of Friends of Big Bear Valley. “They’re big wings now.”
She says that though they make look small on the live camera, which feeds from the eagles’ nest 24/7 thanks to the wildlife organization’s YouTube channel.
“Pretty soon they’ll move out onto the limbs and practice it and make all the viewers nervous, because they’ll be afraid they’ll fall off,” Steers said.
Though a little worry, she says they won’t fall.
After taking flight for the first time, Sunny and Gizmo will still hang around the nest for a while, and that their parents Jackie and Shadow will continue to follow them around for at least three months to continue watching over them.
“Once they get, I guess full of knowing, think they know what they’re doing, they take off,” she said. “They usually travel around to meet other eagles.”
Within five years, they’ll find a mate, hunker down and start their own families, though it’s unclear exactly where that may be. Fledges from Southern California have been tracked as far north as Canada and as far east as Yellowstone.
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