The black eagles breeding at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden (WSNBG) have turned many West Rand community members into avid bird watchers, but one does not have to be one to love and respect these majestic creatures.
The Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) has confirmed to the Northsider that things are well on track for Makatsa and Mahlori as they continue to raise their youngster, and that all seems fine and quite normal for this stage of the breeding season.
According to BEPR monitor and photographer, Johann van den Berg, the eaglet is about 76 days old, and he/she and the parents are doing well.
“The parents are leaving the nest for longer periods while they go out to hunt. The eaglet will start doing more and more wing exercises and we expect fledging to take place early in September.
“Photographic evidence indicate that the eaglet has become more and more active on the nest, jumping up and down and doing wing exercises. This will be more prevalent on windy days,” said Johann.
In the past the eaglets usually fledged somewhere between 90 and 100 days, and if it is a male it is usually earlier by a few days, as the female is the bigger bird.
The eaglet is expected to take to the skies anytime from the beginning of September up until around September 10.
