@WakeUpCall – Update: Big Bear Eaglets Sunny & Gizmo

Amy talks to Friends of Big Bear Valley Executive Director Sandy Steers about Sunny and Gizmo getting ready to take flight for the first time.   

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's say good morning now to Sandy Steers with friends
of Big Bear Valley. Sandy, I have to tell you,
I'm so addicted to our eagles that I was over
in Paris and checked on them several times while we
were on vacation.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
So I'm glad to hear that they're doing great. Thank you.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
We love to hear that. So we've kind of hit
a milestone.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Sonny is officially ten weeks old, and Gizmo, who hatched
like five days after Sunny, I think, is going to
be ten weeks on.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Saturday, right, Yes, Okay? And what does that mean?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I mean that means that, well, it's between ten and
fourteen weeks is the average for when bald eagles fled
or fly from the nest for the first time?

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Okay?

Speaker 1 (00:48):
And how you're watching them? We're all watching. A lot
of people are still watching them. I think there's I
just looked at the numbers. There's about thirty thousand watching
them right now.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
What are they.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Doing and what are we looking for to show that
they're kind of ready ready to take off?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
They've been doing lots of flapping and running around the
nest to get their wings ready and know how to
balance with their wings and to build the muscles to
and now they're jumping up and down as they flap
and even getting a little bit of air underneath their
feet for a half a second. Maybe.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Okay, so those are little practice jumps, But when they
actually leave the nest for the first time, there's no practicing.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
I mean, it's a do or die situation for them, right.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
They just they well, they wouldn't die, they would just
glide if they couldn't fly. But they can when they're ready,
when they feel like they can really do this and
they have their confidence, say, jump off the limb and fly.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Oh I can't wait to see this. I'm so excited
for them. So then, Sandy, I'm kind of curious too.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
When they take off, do they come right back to
the nest or do they stay away for a while
or is it just sort of a wait and see thing.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Do we really know?

Speaker 2 (02:11):
We don't really know. Mostly they don't come right back.
They at least for a day or sometimes a few hours.
They stay away from the nest. Sometimes they have to
build their muscles enough to be able to fly high
enough to get back up to the nest after they
fly away, but they can come and all of Jacki

(02:33):
and Shadow's chicks have at some point come back to
the nest and visited several times and come back when
they need food. Although Jackie and Shadow will be following
them around bringing them food. Yeah, oh, okay, bringing them
food and showing them how to hunt and things like that,
or a fish. Really for a couple of months, that's

(02:55):
so cool.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
So do they then the kids followed Jackie and Shadow
around and watch them hunt, right?

Speaker 2 (03:04):
They? Yeah, they watch them. They'll learn how to fish,
and Jackie and schatdo will bring them food and and
they don't always know they'll follow, so Jackie and Schattle
will find and follow them to make sure that they're
getting plenty of food and learning what they need.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Okay, And then you said that that Sonny and Gizmore
are watching mom and dad. Do they watch them fly too?
I haven't really paid attention to that, because you know,
they're they're flying in and out all the time. Do
they seem interested in what they're doing the parents are doing?

Speaker 2 (03:32):
They do that. They very often will watch them fly
away and you can see them, you know, like tilt
their heads and look around to see where they went. Yes,
I love it.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
Okay, and we anticipate that Sonny would be the first
to go because she's she or he is older, right,
Gizmo try to follow or do they really instinctually wait
until they're ready.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
I don't know for sure. We haven't had two chicks
that were ready to fledge at the same time before,
so we'll have to wait and see what happens. Most
likely Gizmo wouldn't go unless it felt really ready, but.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
We okay, and so we continue to see.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
We have the camera sitting above the nest in Big
Bear Lake, and Sandy tell us how if people want
to help keep that funded because this is a five
O one c. If anyone wants to make a donation
to help out the eagles or maybe buy an eagle calendar,
where do they go to do that?

Speaker 2 (04:36):
To our website, Friends of Big Bear Valley dot org
and it has all of that there.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Okay, Sandy Steers, Friends of Big Bear Valley will be
watching our eglitz.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
We're so excited they're gonna fly soon. Thanks so much, Sandy,