31 March 2022
The day did not start off looking good for Little Middle at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. Little Middle was not interested in eating and had monofilament line wrapped around the toes of its left foot since the previous afternoon. That tight line can clearly be seen at 08:28:09.
Little Middle missed the morning breakfast because of that fishing line. He was pecking away at it.
At 09:37ish, Little Middle has moved over to the rim of the nest next to Big who did eat breakfast. The remaining fish is on the other side of Big. It is unclear if Little Middle’s foot is still tangled. He is not wanting to move much and I cannot see. Little Middle is hungry! And we know how clever he is. Have a look at what he does – I am so proud of him.
If he held the fish down, it would officially be self-feeding I suppose. But for now, give the kid a round of applause. Brilliant.
By 11am, the filament on Little Middle’s foot has been cut by the little eaglet persistently biting away at it. Another gold star for the middle hatch at the Dale Hollow nest today!
It has been a joyful day.
Thank you to each and every one of you who sent positive wishes and prayers to this nest, to ‘L’ who contacted A Cerere to see if he could help, and to ‘KB’ who put out feelers for help. Your optimism gives me hope that this little eaglet is, indeed, going to fly one day!
Thank you to Dale Hollow Bald Eagles for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures and video clip.