DIARY OF AN EYASS (young hawk)

On the hot, humid, hazy Friday afternoon of June 12, three hours of hawk watching eventually yielded sightings of two eyasses and one parent. Kay captured the action, such as it was.

For the anthropomorphically inclined, this is possibly what was going through the mind of one of those eyasses.


Well, here I am on top of the Franklin Institute. In my copy of the Eyass Growth and Development Manual it states, "When hungry, sit on top of the tallest building, and await parent food delivery."
Well, I'm definitely hungry, so here I am.

What a view, and I've got it all to myself! I wonder where the others are - probably wimping out in a tree staying cool, though I have to admit that the last time I flew into a tree it wasn't pretty. It's hard to pick which branch to land on before you crash into it, so I'm sticking with roof landings for now.




It's really high up here. I wish I weren't by myself. Maybe they're all back on the nest having lunch. I'm going to lean over the edge and see what's happening down there. Yikes....it's a long way down. I can see those silly hawk watchers.
"GET A LIFE, GIRLS!"
I think they must have shifts or something, because when one crew leaves, another shows up within ten minutes.






It's pretty boring being an eyass once you leave the nest. Most of the time you're sitting up on a roof, or lamp post or
monument waiting to be fed. We're supposed to be practicing our flying skills so that we can catch our own food, but I can't see that happening for a while. Better practice some wing flapping while I'm waiting. Maybe mom will see me up here if I'm jumping around a bit.






It's sooo BORING up here. I'm tired of looking at the view and this stupid roof. I'm going to hop down behind that balustrade thing and see what's happening down there.

This is very cool! I can peek out but no-one can see me. The hawk watcher gals go nuts when we suddenly disappear! That camera lady keeps firing away even though these pillar things will surely mess up her picture.
Oooh, but wait.... if no-one can see me, then I won't get fed. Gotta get out of here fast, and back where mom can spot me for a rat drop-off.







Uh oh...here she comes, and I'm not on the roof where I'm supposed to be.
"MOM!"
Can she see me down here?
"MOM! Wait!!! WAIT....don't go.....I'm down HERE....WAIT!!!"

Oh, she's gone. She couldn't see me. But, you know what? She didn't have any food anyway. She was just checking up on me. Gotta get back up top and start flapping if I'm ever going to get fed.


OK - I'm right on the edge. I'm going to start easy. Wow, the wind is quite strong. Let's not have a repeat of what happened Saturday when I flew off the nest by mistake, couldn't fly back up and had to be rescued. That was sooooo embarrassing.






Now I'm gettin' into my groove here. I am just SO good at flapping! I swear my wings are getting longer by the minute. Hey, think I could audition for that thing on the hood of Rolls-Royces?














Flap, flap, flap......Whee, I'm almost flying! I LOVE this! Look at me, everyone!

How does that song go.....

"....so high against the sky, so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you, thank God for you,
the wind beneath my wings."








I can't flap ANY more. I'm tired. Where are they? They're supposed to feed us every couple of hours. I can hardly remember my last meal. I am SO hungry.

Whoa...what's that? Is that a bird? A plane? MOM??

Guess I'm just going to have to sit up here and wait some more. Our Eyass Growth and Development Manual says, "In order to become an effective hunter, the young eyass has to learn to sit patiently for long periods of time."

I'd better be gettin' an A on that section.