In Sequim, Washington, Kathy Pitts was out walking her dog when suddenly the pet picked up a scent. Pitts was directed to a bush in her neighbor’s yard by his beginning to bark.
Two little, chubby birds with downy, grey feathers were there, cuddled in the shade of the leaves.
Pitts was aware that these were not ordinary women. In actuality, they were the young of the bonded bald eagle pair Ricky and Lucy, who have been breeding in the region since roughly 2013.
Pitts called retired wildlife expert Jaye Moore since Lucy and Ricky recently lost a pair of eaglets and she couldn’t bear to see it happen again.
The two eaglets were checked and cleaned up at the veterinary facility after Moore hurried them there. The infants were discovered to be between three and four weeks old, which is roughly two months too soon for them to even consider leaving the nest.
Wildlife photographer Keith Ross described the animals as “quite slow moving, very observant and alert, but you could tell they were very much out of their element” in a statement to The Dodo. Very pleasant, extremely plush, and cute tiny things.
The next challenge was returning the eaglets to their high-up nest in the pines.
Casey Balch, proprietor of Pacific Northwest Tree Service, immediately cleared his calendar and hurried over when he learned that Lucy and Ricky’s infants required assistance. From a neighbouring tree, the apprehensive parents watched his every move, especially when he was handling their priceless cargo.
Balch “finally” managed to scale the tree, according to Ross. He then placed the chicks in the tiny green duffel bag, lifted them up, and put them back into the nest after climbing the tree. The female eagle was circling and keeping watch over him the entire time he was in the air.
Since the eaglets’ safe return last week, Sequim residents have been closely monitoring the small family. They are happy to see that Ricky and Lucy are now again in full parental mode, caring for their young while keeping a vigilant eye out for predators.
When they have chicks, everyone gets excited, Ross added. “And then it’s quite special that they fall out of the nest and are replaced back; it’s like the Sequim kids were replaced.”
He concluded, “Hopefully they stick in this time.”
