Page 8 - BoomertimesMay2021

From The May Cover From The May Cover

Mother’s And Father’s Day Spring Wild Flower Explosion
Combined For Eaglets By Anita Finley

Eagles seem to be excellent I don’t know of
parents. The mom lays the eggs any place one could
and then once hatched, typically go to experience
about three of them, both mom such a floral explo-
and dad tend to them, separately. sion but hopefully
It’s all about food! Since they don’t our readers can tell
drink milk, it’s a harder task. us! This image excit-
Eagle chicks are fed a steady diet ed my vision and my
of fish, occasionally supplemented by waterfowl (ducks, geese) or water imagination to find
birds (gulls, cormorants). About 85% of a chick’s diet will typically con- such a place where
sist of fish such as carp, white sucker, shad, bullhead and sunfish. The walking underneath a planned floral exhibition of such magnitude is
adults capture and tear the fish into small strips, offering them to the possible.
chicks. The chicks snatch the food from the adult’s beak and swallow Spring is certainly here and although Florida’s floral works of nature
it whole. An eagle chick will eat as much as it can at a single feeding, seem to be around most of the year, one can see many trees, both
storing food in its crop. The crop, an organ located near the base of flowering and fruit bearing, exploding into gorgeous colors!
the bird’s neck, will enlarge as it fills, resembling a golf ball.
The male parent does most of the hunting and scavenging during the Even if you live in a condo, you can place flowers in pots for the
early weeks of the chick’s life. The female parent does the majority of outside and inside and create a flowering masterpiece to view each
the feeding and brooding. The male will often eat the head of the fish he day for your meditation and concentration.
catches and then bring the remainder to the nest. The male will brood I have enjoyed Vizcaya in Miami where many floral scenes are
and feed the chicks when the female is off the nest. She will leave to similar to this image and I suggest you go and get breathless with its
stretch, defecate, bathe, preen and hunt on her own. The chicks will beautiful environment!
be nearly full grown at 9 weeks of age. They will add some weight Gardeners all over the country are busy preparing their spring
as they develop their flight muscles after they leave the nest. Their fiesta of flowering plants as a relief to winter. As you begin to visit your
wingspan will be as large or slightly larger than the adults at this time. families, make sure there are gardens on your itinerary! It’s a form of
To read this entire article, go to BoomerTimesFL.com. walking meditation.

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8 / BoomerTimes & SeniorLife BoomerTimesFL.com MAY 2021