Learning to Fly

Kuyurnpa from Simon Cherriman on Vimeo.

It's been nearly 4 months since Kuyurnpa took her maiden flight and rose above the Mulga scrub in the outback. Since then she has expanded her home range to the size of her mother Gidjee, learned where the key feeding spots are, and gained confidence at soaring to great heights. It's easy to forget that it wasn't that long ago she was still confined to her nest.

Shortly after she was tagged with a PTT, I built a hide and spent many hours over several days inside, observing her behaviour. I wanted to ensure that the PTT did not impact her natural behviour; it is most important that nestling eagles can move freely on the nest cavity, get used to walking around, and build strength in their pectoralis major (main flight muscles) as they progress toward fledging.

This video provides a flashback to those nest days and demonstrates Kuyu did not even worry about her new gadget. Enjoy!