Goldie could already feel spring in the air; food was once again becoming plentiful and the valley floor was beginning to take on its rich green color. The melting snow was turning in to a forceful current, coursing through the valley.  Over the next few weeks she would begin making visits to their old nest antici-pating the arrival of her young. Though the nights were still pretty cold, by mid day the warm currents were beginning to rise off the plateau below and the eagles could tell spring was on its way. These rising thermals are the ones that carry the eagles high above the valley and allow them to practice their aerial maneuvers, which in turn, cause their senses to become heightened and they begin their mating rituals.

    Hanz had already begun giving chase and they appeared to dance in mid air as they renewed their playful behavior and their long time commitment to each other. Obviously they were looking forward to another year of raising their young together.

  Goldie and Hanz had been nesting in the same spot for over ten years now. The nest sat on a protruded rock making it virtually inaccessible to any other creatures and it had always served them well. It was also a great place to catch the wind and the perfect spot to teach their young to fly. There was so much to look forward to it was no wonder she was getting antsy. They knew the time was getting close and their instincts to nest were beginning to take over. First there was the annual inspection to assess the winter’s damages and then the real work started.

    The nest had become a massive structure and each spring there was the annual clean up, rearranging and addition of new materials. As soon as the snow melted the two of them went straight to work. Goldie would pick up sticks and twigs which seemed to be out of place and either reposition them or toss them over the ledge. Over the years a pile of discarded wood lay on the valley floor below the nest and somehow Hanz knew not to try and fool Goldie by returning these old twigs. He began to round up the necessary materials starting with larger sticks and progressing down to smaller ones. Time had taught him the routine and only rarely did she reject his supplies. As they finished the major repairs, she began to fly down into the tree line and snap off fresh twigs from the fur trees below. Hanz brought in new grass and she took these softer materials and began to make her brooding area. Finally ready, Goldie laid three eggs as the early spring was promising to be plentiful. Hanz seemed to dote over the eggs and occasionally was allowed to sit on them when Goldie went to stretch her wings.

   They had been hearing the rustling inside the eggs for days and there was almost a nervous behavior as she turned them over and over, anticipating their birth. Finally after weeks of preparation, and fidgeting, Chirpy and Chipper broke free of their shells but Pokey wasn’t quite ready. Mom tossed the  fragments out of the nest and continued to turn the remaining egg. As soon as the eaglets hatched, Hanz began bringing in fish from the overflowing stream and Goldie would shred it into smaller pieces and cluck to the youngsters to open up. She placed tiny morsels into their open beaks and they would extend their heads up clearing a path for the food to drop straight down into their little bellies. The eagles waited all day on Pokey but by sundown he still had not been able to break free of his shell.

   Hanz had been behaving a little unusual, taking frequent flights high up into the sky; normally his flights were focused on short trips to the valley for food and then straight back to the nest. It was as though he could sense something was not quite right and kept going up to check it out. By late afternoon the air had become frigid. A cold front was moving in. Mom cozied in on the young who were far too fragile to be left uncovered in the cold air. A light smattering of snow began to fall and Goldie hunkered down for a long night while the temperature continued to drop. She sat directly on top of Pokey, still in his shell; and pulled Chirpy and Chipper under her wing and close to her warm body, determined to protect them from the cold.

   As the sun rose, it was clear that she had not moved at all during the night. The light snow that had fallen had melted against her warm body had refrozen into a sheet of ice on her back. An hour or so after sunrise she heard Hanz call to her, he was coming in with an early morning catch a delicious young jack rabbit. He landed on the edge of the nest as Goldie broke free of her ice cocoon. She turned to check on her brood. Everyone seemed to be fine though it was hard to tell what was going on with Pokey. She took the rabbit and began to tear it, sampling first, and then feeding the two eaglets who had already begun to plead for food. The air was still cold and the wind seemed to be turning even colder; Goldie never left the nest but would occasionally rouse her feathers and continue to turn Pokey. Once or twice during the day Chirpy and Chipper, would stick their heads out from under mom’s wings, but only long enough to decide it was too cold to move about. All day the temperature continued to drop as a winter blast moved down from out of the north.

   Late afternoon the snow began to fall again. Hanz sat guard on the edge of the nest but as the winds began to blow the snow around, and there seemed nothing that he could, He flew down to the trees below and took perch for the night. Goldie would have to sit it out again as the snow began to pile up around her.
 
   The snow fell all night, the wind swirled around the cliffs edge and by morning Goldie was completely encased in a pile of snow, unable to break free from the frozen mass that had entombed her. She could feel her two babes squirming about and could hear Pokey tapping on his shell. Weakened by the cold night, she could not lift herself and would not risk hurting the young ones in a frantic effort to break free.

   Hanz bristled to shake off the powder that had settled on him during the night and in the early morning light, he flew off his perch to check on Goldie and the brood. When he arrived at the nest, only Goldie’s tail feathers were visible above the snow. He called to her and she clucked back. He almost became enraged as if someone had captured his family and he could not get to them. Hanz began to use his feet and talons to dig out his imprisoned family while continuing to call to them. It took several minutes before he was able to break them free. As she lifted herself from the remaining snow; Hanz seemed to be almost beside himself with joy. The love of his life, and the young he would soon begin to train, had weathered the night and were now safely in his sight. The next day the air began to warm again and Pokey finally popped out, and then there were three.

   This incredible story demonstrates the eagle’s care for their young. Even in nature parents seem willing to go to great lengths and sacrifice to provide for and protect them, regardless of the cost. But the most amazing thing to me is how much this story speaks of God’s care for us. Many times God has come to dig me out of one mess or another. But when I think of the female’s willingness to die, frozen in the snow, to protect her young, I am reminded of the sacrifice of Christ who laid down His own life to save us all. For me, this story has added new depth and meaning to Jesus’ words. “How I would have gathered you under my wing as a hen gathers her young.” At work in the eagles’ lives, and in world around us, sacrificial love is a force more powerful than we have ever imagined and given the opportunity to witness this love, in nature or in man, we are all moved and challenged.  When nature points to perseverance, compassion, sacrifice and love, it points us all toward God and we are inspired to be more than who we are.
 
   The rocks and the trees, the earth and the birds of the air, the fish of the sea and the beast of the fields will tell you who has created all these marvelous things, and in His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12: 7-10