Junior Eagle learns hard lesson – East Idaho News

Brain experts report that the human brain does not mature until age 26, and I don’t know of any bird experts who know how mature avian brains are. On Wednesday, I watched the brains of a teenage bird nearly kill an immature condor.

As I drove along the warm river east of Ashton, I watched a teenage bald eagle dive-bomb an adult male mallard on the water. Its belly flipped over, water exploded in the air, and the two birds were accidentally caught in an unfortunate web. By the time I stopped my drill and turned around, the pain in the eagle’s belly had turned into a desire to survive.

The duck flew away unharmed, and the eagle used its wings as oars to fly to an island in the middle of the river. Climbing out of the water was a chore, but it finally made it, spreading its wings to dry in the unseasonably warm 44 degrees.

After resting, it tried to fly, but fell back into the water. Once on the snow again, it used its wings as snow paddles to cross the island and reach a patch of bare ground, where it wheezed like an old steam engine.

After resting for about 20 minutes and trying to dry its soaked feathers, it flew about 15 feet to a beaver feeding station. Finally it was close enough for me to observe that it was soaked from head to toe. I could tell it was young because its black beak still had the yellow edge of a fledgling.

Not eager to try flying again, it worked its way up to a beaver-skinned log a foot or so above the water, where it could spread its wings and try to fluff its water-soaked breast feathers. After watching for half an hour, I heard the cry of a mature buzzard landing in a nearby tree.

The adult eagle called several times, and the young eagle called back, and I assumed the adult eagle might be one of its parents, coming to check on why the child was late for lunch. The adults flew several times over the warm river, while the juveniles continued to dry their feathers. I decided to leave and look for something else to photograph, and when I came back about an hour later, both birds were gone.

I can only imagine the conversation between the two eagles as they discussed what happened. I’m sure there was a lecture about pecking a dead duck instead of attacking a live duck that was almost as big as itself. This experience probably created a big learning curve on how to keep your feathers from getting wet and how long it takes to dry them out in cloudy weather.

It reminds me of doing SDT (Stupid, Dumb Things) as a kid. I hope it learned something more than I did.

With the unusually warm weather, birds and animals can still find food anywhere, and I couldn’t find them anywhere we normally see them. But forecasters are telling us we’ll be facing some severe weather after Christmas.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a safe arrival at your destination, and a good time with your family and friends. Be kind and considerate to everyone you meet.