The juvenile has fledged!
The newest addition to the black eagles family in the Garden has finally fledged the nest, right on schedule.
For the past 94 days, the entire black eagle following has been eagerly awaiting today, the day the juvenile fledged the nest.
The eagle, whose gender has not been determined yet, hatched from its egg on 16 June, and has been the centre of attention of every follower of the eagles ever since. Its parents, Makatsa and Thulane, have been caring for and nurturing it tirelessly, making sure it gets every bit of food it needs to grow.
Now, 94 days on from its hatching, it has finally fledged. Much like Ayanda did last year, the juvenile made the decision to clamber up the rock face before taking off on its first flight. It reached the top of the cliff, and “disappeared over the edge”, as described by Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) photographer Johann van den Berg, who witnessed the fledging.
An excited Johann, who today witnessed his second fledging, described it in a way few others can:
“The juvenile came into sight again, and the next moment, at 8.24am, it took to the air. It did not fly towards the nest, but to the left close to the valley. I did not get the first landing, as it disappeared behind the trees. Things happened very fast then, as the adults who were perched on a tree below Butchers Block took to the air, and the youngster took off as well and followed the adults over the ridge.
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“We were astounded that it was so brave, but a little concerned that it went towards a built-up area. Soon thereafter the adults came flying over the east ridge, but no juvenile. We waited anxiously for it to return to the bowl, and it did not disappoint us.
It flew confidently over the ridge, and this time I managed to get the landing. It did so very well, but consider that this landing might have been it’s third or fourth landing for the day.”
Now that the juvenile has fledged, I am sure we would all like to know what it will be called. But at this stage, only the team at BEPR know, and the winner will be contacted shortly to determine when the announcement of its name will be made.
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