Waiting Child

Dennis,16, is a polite and soft-spoken young man. Many people describe him as cooperative, helpful, and kind. Dennis makes it point to go out of his way to do a random act of kindness for a friend or stranger every day – whether it’s lending someone a pen or pencil in class or helping a stranger while out and about. Dennis excels in school and would like to be a meteorologist and storm chaser in the future. In his free time, he likes to play Magic: The Gathering and basketball with his peers. Dennis loves food and is always down for a trip to a buffet (Pizza Ranch is his favorite!). Makaila,12, is outgoing with a big personality! Makaila enjoys making friends and having conversations with peers and adults. She has a huge heart and is very artistic and creative. Makaila enjoys being helpful around the home, especially when it comes to caring for animals, as she dreams of becoming a vet someday. She likes to stay active and loves to spend hours at the local park. In her free time, you will find Makaila working on arts and craft projects, playing with her Pop-Its collection, completing word search puzzles, or learning a new board game. She also enjoys reading, and proudly reports that she was able to read 50 books over summer break last year. Dennis and Makaila prefer a home with pets. They will do best with caregivers who can provide structure and routine. Following adoption, Dennis and Makaila need to maintain contact with their older sibling.

Submitted by Foster Adopt Minnesota, a state organization whose vision is to have zero kids waiting for permanent loving families, and mission to find and strengthen Minnesota adoptive, foster care and kinship families. To learn more, go to www.fosteradoptmn.org looking for a place to settle down for the night, so that’s why we took it back then versus the middle of the day.”

Eagles tend to be at their most active in the morning when they are vocal and hunt. They rarely move around in the dark at all.

This situation turned out to also be quite ideal to release the other chick because the nest was located on an island and that made it difficult for a bird to leave unless it was fully flighted.

John Arent, Lori’s husband, and seasoned falconer, helped the staff strategically place the two birds into an area that would encourage them to stay put that night.

The birds were placed in an area with tall grass rather than an open area that would have enticed the birds to move around a little more.

According to Arent, eagles and all raptors, for that matter, are great parents and will adopt ones that are not their own.

“As long as the chick stays in the area and food begs, it has to respond appropriately to the presence of adults,” Arent said.

It is verifiable by the Raptor Center that the original young eagle left the nest before it was ready to fly due to the growth of its feathers when it was found.

Although this can be verified, there are still a variety of different reasons that this happened to the bird.

According to Arent, it is possible that when there are a number of different birds in one nest, the young ones can start flapping their wings to build their flight muscles and can possibly simply be pushed out by another bird in the nest. It is also possible according to Arent that the high winds during that time could have pushed the flapping bird out of the nest.

“There are so many reasons why a chick can come out early,” Arent said. “It does seem like whatever happened, he was not able to land very gracefully, and somehow he collided with something, whether it was the ground or a tree on his way down, and that’s probably how he got that internal trauma.”

Arent says that if anyone finds an injured bird, to call the Raptor Center immediately so the bird can have the best chance it can at survival.

For more information on the Raptor Center, visit https://raptor.umn.edu/.

Sebastian Studier is an intern at Press Publications. He can be reached by calling 651-242-2775 or emailing intern1@ presspubs.com.

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