A Fortnight (CA18_14)

Brain cancer is...

...a fortnight in the mountains.

So many pictures outside with beautiful backdrops. Ho hum.  

Okay, here's something new today.  At the Discovery Center, we learned more about Big Bear's bald eagles.  This season's baby is three-month old Stormy.  You can see him and his parents 24/7 on the Eagle Cam.  Try this link:

Big Bear Eagle Cam  (URL:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNdo6wu_Xug )

Their habitat is here in Fawnskin; you will see the lake in the upper right hand corner of the screen.   

Yes, Stormy is all over brown.  We learned that bald eagles' heads and tails get whiter as they get older.  (How like humans, says Darrell.)  It takes five or more years for the heads and tails to become uniformly white and for their eyes and beaks to become golden.

Stormy drama:  Stormy fell out of the nest a week ago.  Fortunately, he landed on a branch rather than falling to the ground.  His parents both kept him company, fed him, and protected him from predators.  Recently Stormy learned to fly and returned to his cushy life in the nest.  Stormy's mother was born in this same nest six years ago.

We learned that eagle nests are very impressive.  Here's an actual size replica of a nest at the Center:

This replica is five feet in diameter and weighs 500 pounds.  Considering that eagles weigh only about 14 pounds, that's a pretty impressive building feat, perhaps rivalling...a midden?

Lots of people are up this weekend enjoying the lake and the environment.  We find it encouraging to see so many people loving what our earth has to offer.

Happy Saturday!