Flying Higher

In our last checkup on Jarrkanpa, he had shown a great deal of confidence gain in his soaring ability, moving beyond the 1000 m altitude mark. Today I checked the latest set of fixes and thought I'd post a 'day in the life' to show how he progressed even more. At 5 am he made his first movement from a roost in the woodland, not far from his nest. By 10 am the young eagle was stationary, probably sitting in a tree and digesting his breakfast. But by 11 am he had taken to the sky and was RIGHT up there, reaching nearly 5000 m above the ground! (click the above map to enlarge and see the altitude reading). At midday Jarrkanpa had begun to drop from the heavens, and he spent the next few hours roosting in a tree, avoiding the baking temperatures (which had also been responsible for helping him soar). The remaining afternoon fixes all showed much lower altitudes, indicating a few short flights from perch to perch in the woodland north of the lake.

If you cast your mind back to this time last year, you might remember that Kuyurnpa took similar steps with her learning to fly. This is obviously part of a young eagle's progression to independence, learning to ride the air currents and move about the landscape in the easiest possible fashion, before they one day leave home and fend for themselves. Kuyu left home at the end of March... when will Jarrakanpa make his departure?