Seeing a Bald Eagle and The Return of Chicken Jenny
- Tim Craig
- Apr 18, 2022
- 4 min read
I had never seen anything like it. It was breathtaking.
One of the parents was sitting yards away on a branch while two bald eagle chicks frolicked in the huge nest near the top of a sparsely needled pine. The parent perched with purpose. The chicks seemed unusually safe in a 28 square foot apartment hundreds of feet in the air. The other parental figure was hunting for food to feed this new and growing family. I was so glad I extended my run on the Palisades to see this. It will now be a weekly pilgrimage until the chicks leave the nest.
The more I think about it - this is almost exactly like life in New York City with a one bedroom apartment, except we have three kids. One parent is overlooking the nest with purpose, while the other is away, but in this case, I'm just in the other room doing Zoom meetings. Our kids also frolic and make as much use of the space as they can. Three humans to one bedroom is pretty much the same as 2 chicks to one nest. In all fairness, the parents can sleep on other trees, but Emily and I don't have that freedom. And our home is 60 feet off the ground. But we do have metal bars and windows which are little more secure than the twigs and grass holding the chicks in.
Bald eagles were my favorite animal as a kid growing up. I was fascinated by birds of pray and so naturally one of the largest and most fierce captured my imagination. This love of eagles has ended up impacting my life significantly.
My love of eagles is the reason I cheer for the Philadelphia Eagles, even though I grew up an hour from Buffalo Bill country (phew - glad for that choice!). To simplify things, I chose to like all Philadelphia's major sports teams - the Sixers, Flyers, and Phillies. Because of this, Philadelphia was the location I chose for a special trip with my dad when I was in middle school so we could see the 76ers and Allen Iverson play (The point of the trip was to talk about becoming a teenager and I'm now quite grateful for the intentional ways my parents invested in me! Back then, I was excited about Allen Iverson!).
I'm not sure I can count the nights of joy or despondency because of the downstream impact that my love for Eagles has caused.
I've never seen a bald eagle nest in the wild, or seen a bald eagle perched before. WOW. Absolutely stunning and my weak iPhone pictures don't nearly do it justice.
Now to the return of Chicken Jenny. I've never quite heard anything like that before.
"CAAA CAAWWWWWW....CAAAAAA CAAAAWWWWWWW" (this is on repeat at screaming volume for about 30 seconds.
I was running with my friend Jordan on the Palisades to see the eagles my friend Jenny told me about. We had just turned onto the path when this screeching noise erupted.
"I wonder if we know that person?" I said to Jordan.
"If we don't they might be crazy." He replied.
Turned out both things were true.
I found myself bracing for impact with whatever was behind, too afraid to look behind me. As the screeching drew nearer, I summoned up the courage to take a glance.
It was the return of CHICKEN JENNY! This is a huge deal because Jenny (the same one that sang Christmas carols to a line of people waiting to get COVID tests Christmas eve) recently had foot surgery and hasn't been able to run for months. She was just cleared to bike and was deeply enjoying the fresh air and exercise. (I think I remember her shouting something like, "I'M OUTSIDE AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT!")
Chicken Jenny is a particular version of Jenny that only emerges on running or bike path and is often brought on by the sight of my children, or their chariot. While running, Jenny starts to prance and flap her arm/wings, clucking like a chicken to the delight of my children. This would be an often and much welcome sight on Dyckman Fields year round. However, with the recent surgery, Chicken Jenny, and even normal Jenny have been out of commission.
In what felt like a mini-resurrection aptly taking place on Holy Saturday, my heart lifted because Jenny was biking. Her foot was broken and now is being healed. A deep smile came to my face knowing that Jenny was back and outside. While biking is not running, it was a joy to have her back on the path and joining Jordan and me, if only for a short few minutes.
The more I think about it, the more the bald eagle and Chicken Jenny have in common! They both are fiercely protective of their children. They both thrive in the outdoors. They both make sharp"CAW-ing" noises in varying volumes. And they both wear spandex while biking!
Well, I've never seen a bald eagle biking, but if it did, it would wear spandex.
Chicken Jenny here, expressing delight and appreciation at a characteristically ABOVE-AVERAGE VOLUME!!!! Also, I have to point out your beautiful Freudian slip because it's too good to let go: "birds of pray"(!!!!) We flock together, I think the saying goes.