After misstep, Erie leaves

Jackson and Kindness’s eaglet flies away effortlessly after jump and tumble

After taking a little misstep off of a branch while jumping and tumbling out of the tree, Jackson’s and Kindness’s eaglet, Erie, took off effortlessly away from the Eastlake nest and the territory.

“It was Thursday (June 24) at 3:35 p.m.,” said Betty DelfosseHenninger, the American Eagle Foundation’s Eastlake nest liaison. “It’s been a great experience, and it’s been enjoyable to see the community coming together and looking forward to the posts from the hatching all the way through.

“Everyone got involved, and that’s a nice thing to see the community do.”

Delfosse-Henninger said it’s an emotional experience for everyone, especially for AEF volunteers who see Erie’s actions happen in real time.

“Erie turned 12 weeks, and sometimes you think, ‘Are they able to be on their own,’” she said. “We put a lot of human emotion on them. How could someone who is 12 weeks old be on their own, and it’s different because they’re animals.”

Although it may seem like it, Erie is not entirely on its own yet. Its parents, Jackson and Kindness, still know where Erie is at, and they will continue to provide food and teach Erie how to hunt for the next six weeks, Delfosse-Henninger said.

“Sometimes eaglets come right back to the nest,” she said. “We have not seen any sign of (Erie). Sunday (June 27) was our first sighting. Seeing Erie on Sunday was comforting and a huge relief. We knew (Erie) was ready. It’s encouraging that he or she is independent.”

Earlier this month, AEF volunteers were able to spot Erie stepping completely out of the nest onto a branch, which is referred to as branching. That is the final step in getting ready to fledge, which means fly.

Erie ultimately will be the one that decides it’s had enough help, Delfosse-Henninger said. Jackson, Kindness and Erie will hang together for a while as Erie stays in the territory,. However, at some point over the next five years, as Erie becomes an adult, it will travel wherever it wants.

“It might be here or somewhere far away,” she said. “We relied all on manual work, and I think we did a pretty good job of having that become successful.”

Erie was hatched on April 3. Kindness was previously with another bald eagle by the name of Justice and the two had their nest at Bruce Yee Park in Eastlake.

After Justice was chased off by other intruding eagles, Jackson being one of them, Jackson was accepted by Kindness, Delfosse-Henninger said. They then built their nest by Eastlake City Hall.

SUBMITTED Erie has fledged the nest.