Bandit is the eaglet in British Columbia featured on the Hancock Wildlife web cam from the time he was in the egg to when he jumped out of the nest due to being startled by a branch falling. I shared some pictures of him here. An organization called O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society) has been caring for him in preparation for the time he can be released into the wild. The time this coming Saturday. He is healthy and flying. Also important, the eagles have returned to the area from northern fishing grounds. Soon the salmon will be spawning in the local rivers and there will be abundant food for him.
The release date is November 21, 2009 at 3 P.M. The place is Sandpiper Golf Resort in Harrison Mills, BC. The Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival is at the same location on November 21-22. It would be great fun to attend the festival and to watch Bandit take his first flaps to freedom. He has been strong enough and mature enough for release for several weeks. But there were no other eagles in the area as they had all gone to northern fishing grounds. The best chance for Bandit's survival requires other juveniles and adult eagles to be in the area. He will learn from them.
One of O.W.L. volunteers was granted special permission to film Bandit in his flight cage. The video shows where Bandit has lived these past weeks. It also shows the ingenious design of the flight cage. The cage is long with staggered partitions that encourage flight development. It also allows the eaglets a way to get away from the people that enter the cage to feed and clean. It is important for their survival in the wild that the eaglets do not become accepting of people.
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