Spirit is growing out of the fluffy chick s/he once was becoming the fierce eagle s/he needs to be…
This morning when Shadow arrived with fluff instead of fish, Spirit threw a tantrum to remember! We witnessed Spirit’s first mantle… Birds of prey mantle their food by spreading out their wings and tail over it to protect their food from being seen or stolen by others. Of course, this was wishful thinking on Spirit’s part as there was no food delivery this visit. No worries, Spirit had an extra-large meal yesterday evening and some leftovers this morning. S/he has plenty of food stored in its crop and is not starving.
Shadow was wondering what happened to his sweet fluffy eaglet… and where did this big eagle with a big attitude come from… and where’s your mom?!?! When Jackie arrived a few minutes later (with fluff and no fish), Shadow couldn’t get out of there fast enough and round 2 ensued. Eventually Spirit settled down and all was quiet at the nest.
We can expect to see much more of this aggressive behavior in the weeks to come and it is a good thing, though it might be hard for some to watch. Spirit needs to be aggressive to survive once s/he leaves us for its great adventure and so far, Spirit is doing a great job!