6-10-2022 Family Dynamics

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Yesterday, Shadow came in with a fish, looked around waiting for Spirit to arrive… what is that we hear coming in? A screaming eagle, but wait, it’s Jackie, not Spirit! We know where Spirit gets that from. Shadow isn’t willing to give up his fish, a few words are exchanged and that is that… until Spirit arrives. You’ll notice that fish Shadow was keeping for himself was just relinquished for his eaglet. It was that simple, Jackie can fish for herself, Spirit can’t.
At the end of the day, they all gathered in one of their favorite roost trees. You can see Jackie & Shadow side by side near the trunk and Spirit fidgeting to the right.
Spirit isn’t a brat, spoiled, ungrateful or mean to her parents. Spirit is behaving exactly as Jackie & Shadow hopes she will. This is the bold, aggressive, and assertive eagle they raised from a little fluff ball. Spirit must be aggressive to survive on her own. The survival rate for eagles in their first year is about 70%, after the first year, the survival rate increases substantially. If she was hurting Jackie or Shadow when biting their ankles, they would react and stop her, instead they are patient with her.
Shadow is a great provider, no reason to feel sorry for him. He can and will stand up for himself if he wants to. He graciously brings in fish for Jackie while she is incubating, he has proven he will do the same to feed his chick(s) as well.
We have seen Shadow stand his ground over a fish and Shadow will win… when he wants to.
Spirit might attempt to hunt before she leaves the valley, but the odds are against success as she does not have the skills yet. She is completely dependent on Jackie & Shadow providing food for her. Spirit will follow Jackie & Shadow around, watch and learn. She will learn to hunt by trial and error and rely mostly on scavenging and stealing from others for the first year while she perfects her flight and hunting skills.
This is a link to a video of Shadow standing his ground and defending his prey. This is not how we like to see our two lovebirds, but it is a fact of bald eagle life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu9skj_YAwE

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48 thoughts on “6-10-2022 Family Dynamics”

  8. Yes, Jackie knows Shadow is the best provider. Shadow is just as smart. He gets a huge fish, eats some of it first,, then brings it to the nest, Jackie most likely seen the fish before he got to the nest, Jackie claims the fish, Shadow loves Jackie, then Spirit does to Jackie what she did to Shadow. Yes, family, children rule.

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  9. 🦅🦅🦅💝AWWW HOW SWEET FAMILY REUNION FEAST!! I THINK MOMMA BROUGHT THE 🐟FISH, DADDY WAS 1ST AND THEN BABY GIRL! 😲MOMMA….MOVE OUT THE WAY DAUGHTER…..AND LEFT TO THE FRONT PORCH, NOT TIME FOR DRAMA!!🤣🤷🏻‍♀️

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  24. It seems to be in the DNA of this Eagle family, in particular, to be possessive and protective of their tucker !!! AND since Jackie and Shadow are such good providers, Spirit will likely grow/learn to be the same !!!!!

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  31. Shadow wants to make sure his little girl knows what a true Mate should.
    Do not settle for anything less.

    Jackie just wants to eat so she can stay out of that conversation.

    Once Spirt understands what to look for in a mate, he stands back. He doesn’t want to loose a toe to these hungry Ladies.

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  34. It looks like there was only one fisherman in the family that day and Shadow got kicked out on the front porch right after he brought home the bacon. lol They're quickly outgrowing their little homestead. 🙂 Thanks for the vid description. ❤️

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  36. I don't think Spirit is going to leave. She is very attached to her parents and they are to her. Would be wonderful if she could eventually set up her own nest close by.

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  40. A "family" sitcom w/ Nature as director…what a laugh! Shadow brings a solo dinner home. In flies Jackie & pushes him away & starts eating. Spirit flies in & starts nipping at talons. "I Love Jackie 💖" shows THE END 🦅💖🦅🦅 LOL!!!

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