Catalina in 1949 as well as today is the home of several American Bald Eagles. Present day Catalina has two web site cameras that constantly monitor a like number of Eagle nests. In fact in 1949 Catalina was the home of many exotic birds. The Wrigley family had established and stocked what we islanders called the "Bird Park". It was, like all the Wrigley projects, a beautiful garden like park. I don't recall how many birds lived there but it was something to see. Everything from Condors to Mina Birds. The park was just up the road from the golf course and near our school. My class took several field trips to the "Bird Park" so I got to know the place well.

The Eagles were not part of the parks attractions. Instead they were free to roam or nest on the entire island. Catalina with its high rocky landscape is a natural habitat for the Bald Eagle.   

On the coast road between Avalon and Pebbly Beach was a section of rocky terrain that was almost a vertical cliff towering about one hundred feet above the road. This was the same area where most of the rock slides occured. At an elevation of about eighty feet there was an out cropping that formed a  small ledge. The little ledge was about one yard square. Yep, you guessed it. Old lady Eagle had a nest built on that ledge.

Local legend had it that some brave lad in the past had climbed that cliff and came back with a feather from the nest. The nest was visible from the road. Every time us kids walked passed the ledge the story of the feather would be retold. Rich Eber told us that the last one to try the climb got scared half way up and the resulting rescue efforts had caused the kid to get in lots of trouble.

Danny Williams and me took a shot at the climb but ran clean out of courage at about thirty five feet. I swear to God, that thirty five feet looked and felt like a hundred feet. Lowell and Dan's little brother Jimmy watch in "aw" as their big brothers attempted to do themselves great bodily harm. 

On a Saturday Morning not long after our aborted "Quest for the Nest", my mom told me not to run off anywhere. She said the dog had got pretty smelly and needed a bath. In as much as "Dobe" was my pooch I'd be doing the bath honors. Jimmy came over and him a Lowell watch me wrestle the dog awhile. They lost interest before too long. Didn't have no interest in helping bathe a big "Yeller" dog that thought it all was a fun and games exercise. They asked to use the "Ugly" bicycle. Those two on that bike was about as funny as me trying  hold "Dobe" down to bathe him. Lowell had longer legs than Jimmy so Lowell got the job of pedaling and steering. Jimmy rode in the basket and was lookout and front bumper. The ritual was that Lowell would roll up his right pant leg so as to avoid the "I aint got no chain guard" pitfall. We'd lean the bike against something handy. Him and Jimmy would mount up and I'd get them balanced and give a push off. They'd go careening and ricocheting off tree's, garbage can's or anything else unlucky enough to get in their way. All this plus the worry of getting past the Monica's yard without being "Beaned" by one of them rock throwing Monica kids. Oh the joys of youth.

While Lowell and Jimmy had diverted my attention the danged dog ran off. I finally got him cornered behind the Eber house, wrestled him across the road and back into the wash tub. Dumb dog! Danny, Jimmys older brother, showed up and started offering advice on bathing the dog. Great, just what I needed, another expert. Danny had been watching Hopalong Cassidy down at Otis and Raymond's  house. A Saturday "must" for Danny. I told him after I got done with Dobe We'd catch up with our little brothers. I figured at the rate of one crash for every ten yards traveled, they wouldn't  be too far away. 

Finally, I was done with the dog. He wash clean and smelled like "Life Buoy" soap. I'd of used "Sweet Heart" if we'd had any. "Life Buoy", it "stunk". Dobe was still pretty wet. He immediately rolled in the dirt. Well, back to square number one.  

I put Dobe on his rope so he wouldn't follow us and we headed out to find the kids. Man oh man it was a typical "Great" island day. I was right, the little brothers were down the coast road, just beyond the place where the "Big Ol Snake" adventure took place. I notice that they were coming toward us instead of going toward town.

Jimmy was one of those kids that talked more with "Body Language" than the spoken word. You know the type, hands and arms waving all over the place. He was I believe what you'd call "Very Animated". If you tied his arms and hands down he'd explode. On this day he was jumping and pointing all over while walking backwards toward me and Danny while he conversed with Lowell. My brother was pushing the bike and just nodding his head. Danny yelled at them. They in turn started to motion for us to hurry and meet them. We took off running. 

Jimmy was talking so fast we couldn't really understand what he was trying to say. Lowell picked up a dirty old paper bag from the bikes basket, held it out to me and said "We done it". Inside the bag was several large bird feathers. To be more exact, several Eagle feathers. Brown with white tips. Danny and me couldn't believe our eye's. Dan response was "Naw". Can't be. Jimmy retorted with yes it is true and we can prove it !

Knowing full well that their claim would be doubted, the younger brothers had devised a scheme to insure their place in island folk lore. They left proof of their presence at the "Mystical" Eagle nest. Nothing catchy like"Kilroy was here". In stead they had left a piece of old faded red ribbon wedged into a crevice in the ledge just below the nest. It was their flag of conquest. Their right of passage.

I was real happy for their success. After looking up at the little scrap of red ribbon it dawned on me how easy the whole thing could have gone sour. Two little kids getting bad hurt trying to do something they had saw their big brothers doing. Just the thought made me feel sick. Like I said earlier "God loves young kids and fool's. In this case I guess it should read "God loves young foolish kids and their foolish older brothers. Thank you God!!