Midshipman fishT

This morning news reached us from Hornby Island that the single eaglet in the nest, Phoenix, unfortunately did not survive.This was a great shock to us and the many, many people that have been following this bald eagle’s nest over the last several months.
As Phoenix’ conditions worsened over the last couple of days, plans were being made to take Phoenix from the nest to have him examined at the Mountainnaire Animal Rehabiliation Center.
Such an extrication is not easy. It requires permits on the one side, and experienced tree-climbers on the other. They need to know how to deal with a sick eaglet as well as with protective parents that might not like their baby being taken away from the nest, all while high up in a tree. Sadly it proved impossible to get everything in place in time for Phoenix.
In mythology, a phoenix is an immortal bird that, when it dies, bursts into flames and is reborn from its own ashes. “To rise from the ashes of the phoenix” means to make a miraculous comeback. Because the cameras had been resurrected by the Hornby Eagle group with the help of WildEarth, it was decided that the eaglet would be named “Phoenix.”
I am sure that Phoenix will also live on in the memories of the many that watched his every move. Hopefully the following two short clips will help with that:

On Thursday, April 29th an adorable eaglet emerged from one of the eggs. Watch it here.
At one point Phoenix pooped on one of the cameras lenses and it was feared that the close-up shots would not be seen. Watch it here. Fortunately the wind and rain cleaned up Phoenix’s dirty deed.

More information on the 2010 Hornby eagles nesting season and how things will continue from here, can be found at the Hornby Eagles Forums and Website: