Storm is 9 weeks on June 5th

Storm is now 9 weeks old as of June 5th and is now considered a full-grown eaglet.  This means that Storm is now close to adult size and getting ready to begin branching, the precursor to fledge.  You may have noticed Storm starting to head bob a bit when looking around, he/she is contemplating the next move.  They do this before branching and flying.  We have seen Storm continue to exercise those beautiful wings and legs.  Now when Storm stretches his/her wings they are as big as the nest. They should about a 6 foot wingspan at this point.   We can assume that Storm weighs anywhere between 8-10 lbs. now.  Sometimes when Storm and Skye are together, he/she looks almost as big as mom.  Is Storm male or female?

We’re Still Guessing!
We’ve been zooming in to catch clues about Storm’s gender, but without bloodwork or precise measurements, it’s all still a guess. One clue is the hallux—the rear talon—which is typically larger in females. We’re also watching the gape (the yellow part extending from the beak), which tends to stretch further back in females. So far, Storm shows some signs of being female: big feet, a longer gape, and possibly a deeper beak. But the jury’s still out!

Storm Hits a Milestone
Storm is now self-feeding like a pro! On June 2, we saw the first food mantling—a behavior where eaglets spread their wings over food to protect it. Soren now drops off meals and flies off quickly, as Storm takes charge. Though there’s no sibling competition now, this skill will be key once Storm is on their own in the wild.

Storm is also showing signs of defending the nest with aggression towards the parents when they land.  You may have noticed on several occasions that Storm has been a bit feisty when Skye comes to the nest.  One evening Storm charged at Skye and nipped her on the wing.  Storm was also playing with Skye’s feathers and pulling on them.  This is normal behavior as Storm is learning instinctually to defend the nest, that he/she thinks is hers now.  After all, Storm spends the most time there.  Skye being a new parent, was taken aback the first time and retreated to her perch.  Poor Mom, she’ll get used to it.

So at the 9 week milestone, we should see branching soon.  Storm is ready and needs to build the confidence to take that first step or flight to a branch in the nest tree.  They will sometimes branch by running up a trunk or branch while flapping their wings.  Or they may take a short flight to the first branch.  An eaglet is considered to branch when both feet are on a branch off of the nest. This does not include the rails.  Storm is a confident eaglet and is well on the way to the first branching and then fledge.