Eagle Tales
One of our past posts (5-14-21) dealt with many facts about eagles. Bald eagles are native only to the USA. The bald eagle has acquired a reputation of strength, persistence, and skill. For that reason, this bird was granted the title of our “national bird” in 1782. Below we link our previous detailed post on eagles:
We relate several startling facts about a bald eagle family nesting in our personal neighborhood. In 2021 an eagle pair successfully fledged two eaglets. The nest was apparently repurposed last summer (2023) by the same eagle parents. During a violent thunderstorm, the tree toppled taking the eagle’s nest with it. We believed our neighborhood eagle saga had concluded in failure when a mature eagle was struck by a vehicle on a nearby interstate highway. The eagle was transported to the local raptor resource center and later released by state authorities in the vicinity of its former nest.
To our surprise, since 2024 began, an eagle’s nest has been built in another tree a few feet away from the original eagle nest site. It was probably constructed by the original nesting pair. Our son observed nest building activities over the winter and noted when egg incubation began. Eagle eggs hatch about 35 days after incubation begins. As of this writing at least one baby eagle is visible through a scope. We have recent videos of one eagle parent repeatedly feeding its tiny hatchling small pieces of food; now the strong baby eagle observes the outside world from inside its nest. We observe this young eagle receiving food from one of its parents. Young eagles are known to gain up to a pound of weight per week.
In our midwest region nest building by bald eagles commences from November to January. By reconstructing our timeline, we calculate that our eagle pair was involved in nest building and raising their family shortly after a severe blizzard struck our area in mid-January. These facts testify to the natural ability of living things to survive and thrive under difficult circumstances. Eagles are opportunistic concerning their food supply. Our neighborhood eagle parents were observed feeding fragments of a turtle to their young in 2021.
Do animals of prey such as eagles live a challenging existence? Eagles are equipped with superior vision, strength, and ability to adapt. What about other animals? The Creator of All Things has equipped living creatures with diverse adaptive ability. Isaiah speaks of the strength of eagles: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
Consider the experience of humanity. Scripture is filled with exhortations to be morally strong. Our success in life depends upon not only our physical strength, but also our moral strength. How carefully do we walk according to the fruits of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23) and shun the works of the flesh? (Galations 5:19-21) We see that the eagle’s physical strength is a metaphor for other desirable types of strength—moral strength, for example. Our family has enjoyed the eagle family in our neighborhood for almost four years. Lessons on the science of animal behavior have transitioned to lessons on faith.
