Love is for the Birds

[3113]

A story tailor made for Valentines (from here):

Maybe the guy just wants some company. That's the speculation about a wild bald eagle that's taken up residence right outside the Orange County Zoo's bald eagle exhibit.

The bird of prey first appeared last weekend and has spent every morning and evening since then perched in a tree above the zoo's 6-year-old female bald eagle, Olivia. The two have been squawking back and forth all week, said Donald Zeigler, manager of the small zoo in Irvine Regional Park. "It's rare for the zoo to have a bald eagle in the exhibit and a wild one outside," Zeigler said. "It's quite a little attraction."

Zookeepers can't say if the wild eagle is lingering because it is attracted to the resident eagle. Its smaller size suggests it is male, but its sex is still unknown. OC Parks posted video of the wild eagle in a sycamore tree last week. Ever since then, birders and photographers have flocked to the zoo, gathering before dawn in hopes of seeing the creature take off to hunt for fish in the early morning light.

"He's been showing up in a tree 15 feet from the female eagle like a creature of habit," said Linda Jones, a wildlife photographer from Irvine who has gone to the zoo four times to snap photos of the bird. "It's so cute. My guess is that there aren't any female eagles in this area."

And here is Romeo

http://media.kval.com/images/110131bald_eagle405.jpg

 

[stephen55]

Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away...

 

[3113]

Oh, and FYI as the part of the article I quoted doesn't say--Olivia is in captivity only because she's got a bad eye and, presumably, wouldn't be able to survive in the wild.

I still think they should let her go and be with Romeo there.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Oh, and FYI as the part of the article I quoted doesn't say--Olivia is in captivity only because she's got a bad eye and, presumably, wouldn't be able to survive in the wild.

I still think they should let her go and be with Romeo there.

Or let him in for conjugal visits!

 

[mynameisben]

Oh, and FYI as the part of the article I quoted doesn't say--Olivia is in captivity only because she's got a bad eye and, presumably, wouldn't be able to survive in the wild.

I still think they should let her go and be with Romeo there.

Olivia is the real sad sack in this story, a symbol of freedom living in captivity. She's an eagle with eyes, yet she's not eagle-eyed. She's a bald eagle, but she's not a balled eagle.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Or let him in for conjugal visits!

Being male, that would be my suggestion. Some sort of double doored 'airlock' arrangement that he can get through and she can't? That way the zoo can have the best of both worlds, a reproducing bald eagle exhibit and a touch of the wild as well. I like it.

 

[3113]

Or let him in for conjugal visits!

Here! Here! Though it might be a bit tough. Bald eagles have that courtship ritual prior to mating that involves soaring up high, locking talons and going into freefall. I doubt they'd be able to do that in Olivia's cage.

But maybe Olivia and her guy will skip that part and get right to the conjugal part?

And they mate for life, too, right?

 

[1sickbastard]

soaring up high, locking talons and going into freefall

Also sound like a number of human romantic relationships...