Pilgrim and Twilight

Pilgrim

Pilgrim is a male Bald Eagle born in the wild in 1968. He was found near Jonesport Maine on November 4, 1970. He was taken to the Moosehorn National Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on November 11, 1970 where he was examined. It appeared as if h e had a pellet in his left wing, but his records are incomplete so we do not know any more. He was released on January 30, 1973 at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, MD. he was found shot in the right wing near Dover, Delaware in April 1975. His right wing was broken in two places. He was treated by Dr. Gee. His right wing droops a little. He was sent to Zoo Atlanta December 5, 1988 from Patuxent.

He has been mated with Mayflower since at least 1977, but their histories together are sketchy. They have produced eggs every year since 1977, except 1989, 1990 and 1991. In those years, they also laid eggs, but did not nest them. It appears they have produced a lot of eggs but they have not had any offspring.

He arrived with Mayflower at the American Eagle Foundation (formerly National Foundation to Protect America's Eagles) in Pigeon Forge, TN, and was put in a breeding enclosure at our aviary. They had produced eggs for the 1994 year before they arrived.

Since coming to AEF, they have laid 3 eggs each year, but, disappointingly they have all been infertile. In 1996, they were given an eaglet from another breeding pair at our facility to raise. They successfully raised it to 8 weeks of age when it was removed from their nest and taken to the Douglas Lake Hack Tower in Tennessee to be released.

Unfortunately, Mayflower died in June of 1999 due to complications from a lung disease called aspergilliosis.

Another eagle was placed with Pilgrim after the realization that Mayflower would not be returning to him. Twilight was introduced to him in March of 1999.

Twilight

Twilight is a female Bald Eagle found as an adult in 1982. She was placed in the care of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, which is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was given a mate, but they never displayed any breeding behavior together. In 1991, Twilight and her proposed mate were sent to the American Eagle Foundation's (formerly National Foundation to Protect America's Eagles) education, breeding, and rehabilitation center in Pigeon Forge, TN, and were placed in an aviary with a group of Bald Eagles. Soon thereafter, the male chose a different female as his mate. For three years, Twilight lived in the same aviary with many available males, but she never chose a mate.

In September of 1994, a male Bald Eagle named Dempsey, was moved into the AEF's "Eagle Mountain Sanctuary" aviary exhibit located on the Dollywood entertainment park. In less than two months, Twilight paired off with him. Twilight was very patient in waiting for the perfect mate to come along.

During their first nesting season in 1995, they did not breed. However, Twilight laid her first eggs in 1996. Unfortunately, they were not fertile. Not to worry, though —this is very normal for new Bald Eagle pairs. New pairs tend to play "house" for the first couple of years before producing any young. They laid two eggs in 1997 which did not hatch.

Unfortunately, Dempsey died in November of 1998 due to organ failure most likely brought on by poor nutrition as a nestling, which in turn caused underdevelopment of the digestive tract.

Twilight was taken from Eagle Mountain Sanctuary and introduced to Pilgrim who was already housed in our breeding aviary.

Raising a Family

Pilgrim and Twilight seem to be getting along pretty well. Hopefully they will mate and add to the population of Bald Eagles in the wild.



	Pilgrim Pilgrim is a male Bald Eagle born in the wild in 1968. He was found near Jonesport Maine on November 4, 1970. He was taken to the Moosehorn National Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on November 11, 1970 where he was examined. It appeared as if h e had a pellet in his left wing, but his records are incomplete so we do not know any more. He was released on January 30, 1973 at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, MD. he was found shot in the right wing near Dover, Delaware in April 1975. His right wing was broken in two places. He was treated by Dr. Gee. His right wing droops a little. He was sent to Zoo Atlanta December 5, 1988 from Patuxent. He has been mated with Mayflower since at least 1977, but their histories together are sketchy. They have produced eggs every year since 1977, except 1989, 1990 and 1991. In those years, they also laid eggs, but did not nest them. It appears they have produced a lot of eggs but they have not had any offspring. He arrived with Mayflower at the American Eagle Foundation (formerly National Foundation to Protect America's Eagles) in Pigeon Forge, TN, and was put in a breeding enclosure at our aviary. They had produced eggs for the 1994 year before they arrived. Since coming to AEF, they have laid 3 eggs each year, but, disappointingly they have all been infertile. In 1996, they were given an eaglet from another breeding pair at our facility to raise. They successfully raised it to 8 weeks of age when it was removed from their nest and taken to the Douglas Lake Hack Tower in Tennessee to be released. Unfortunately, Mayflower died in June of 1999 due to complications from a lung disease called aspergilliosis. Another eagle was placed with Pilgrim after the realization that Mayflower would not be returning to him. Twilight was introduced to him in March of 1999. Twilight Twilight is a female Bald Eagle found as an adult in 1982. She was placed in the care of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, which is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She was given a mate, but they never displayed any breeding behavior together. In 1991, Twilight and her proposed mate were sent to the American Eagle Foundation's (formerly National Foundation to Protect America's Eagles) education, breeding, and rehabilitation center in Pigeon Forge, TN, and were placed in an aviary with a group of Bald Eagles. Soon thereafter, the male chose a different female as his mate. For three years, Twilight lived in the same aviary with many available males, but she never chose a mate. In September of 1994, a male Bald Eagle named Dempsey, was moved into the AEF's "Eagle Mountain Sanctuary" aviary exhibit located on the Dollywood entertainment park. In less than two months, Twilight paired off with him. Twilight was very patient in waiting for the perfect mate to come along. During their first nesting season in 1995, they did not breed. However, Twilight laid her first eggs in 1996. Unfortunately, they were not fertile. Not to worry, though —this is very normal for new Bald Eagle pairs. New pairs tend to play "house" for the first couple of years before producing any young. They laid two eggs in 1997 which did not hatch. Unfortunately, Dempsey died in November of 1998 due to organ failure most likely brought on by poor nutrition as a nestling, which in turn caused underdevelopment of the digestive tract. Twilight was taken from Eagle Mountain Sanctuary and introduced to Pilgrim who was already housed in our breeding aviary. Raising a Family Pilgrim and Twilight seem to be getting along pretty well. Hopefully they will mate and add to the population of Bald Eagles in the wild.