I came across this today and thought I would share it. ​This is an early poster for a couple of nature films Kent and Ed had created together. They never did much else under the name Durden Films that I have seen. This must have been around 1956. "Eagle Hunters" was a 2-part special that was on The Mickey Mouse Club that year and Kent was one of the actors in it. By 1958 Lady had been in the Academy Award winning short film "Grand Canyon" by Disney (you can see the whole thing, including Lady near the end here), which is not mentioned on this flyer.

Ed spent a lot of time on San Miguel island and all of the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara. I have yet to find the "Deserted Island" film in Kent's stuff. I don't know if it survived. I'm sure most of the "Eagle Sense" footage was used in the Gifts of an Eagle film.

I got a great email from Roger recently who told me the story of working with Kent and helping with the river otters when he was 15.

Olive and Oliver were two domesticated river otters that we had the custody of for over a year in the mid-sixties. Kent built a huge cage for them in the backyard of our suburban home. The cage was tall and had man-made rocks with a waterfall and deep pools for the otters. I wish there was a photo of that cage. It was quite an accomplishment. The story of the otters and the hi-jinx and trouble they caused was documented in 
A Fine and Peaceful Kingdom - Kent's third book. However, Roger shared stories I had never heard. I'll let you hear his memory of helping with the otters for the Lassie show.

I was about 15 years old when Kent hired me to help with the otters. It was one of the best times of my youth when I had the opportunity to work with Kent and the otters. 

I will always remember the first time I was introduced to the otters. Kent took me over to the house and into the back yard where they were playing in their cage. They were having a great time till they saw us and then it was all eyes on us. At the time I thought they were huge and wondered just how I was supposed to help with them. 

The first time I had any contact with them was when we took them up to Sespe Creek. As the book says,the farther we drove the more nervous I got. The place Kent had picked out was quiet, with the creek running below. The place we parked was on top of a large set of rocks with a perfect slide about fifteen feet long. When I opened the door Oliver was out like a shot and found the perfect place to slide down to the pool below. We didn't have to worry about him leaving, he was having too much fun. We stayed there for I think three days getting some great shots.

After we went home the producers decided they wanted a shot of the otters pushing a log for part of the show. Kent used some Styrofoam to carve two otter heads and he nailed them to a log. He tied a string to the log and I had to get into the water and pull the log along the bank. Great memories.

The fun of working with Olive was great. Oliver on the other hand kept me on my toes. I was lucky, he only got to nip me 3 or 4 times. I guess you could say he taught me the beginning of some fine dance steps. I still have the book Kent signed and gave me. It has a special place in my library. Like Kent I never got to see the Lassie show with the otters. Maybe they will have re-runs of the show.

Here is a short amount of footage from the "A Wild Life Photographer at Work" short film that is on the Gifts of an Eagle DVD. There is Roger warily opening the door for the otters. Thanks so much for sharing your story, Roger! Kent didn't include the part about the Styrofoam otters in the book. I wonder why? :-)

Lady starred in 4 Lassie episodes that I know of. You can read more about them and see a couple of the original Lassie scripts here.

I recently found some footage of the episode Lassie and the Eagle on YouTube. This episode must have been after an episode where they used the footage of Lady raising the geese that you see in the film "Gifts of an Eagle".

If you know that film well, you'll recognize many of the shots that were used in this episode. It's funny to see how they reused them. By today's standards, it seems so careless how they used the footage. The terrain is different and they even used a shot of lady mildly threatening a wooden goose and presented it as Lady saying "Hi" to a real goose. I wonder how many people caught it at the time.

Still it's great to see and I hope more show up on YouTube. Here is the clip:

Edit: I spoke too soon on this post.  I also just found this preview of Lassie and The Treasure with Lady in it.

Hey Folks,

I found a small pile of more of the new paperback books that Kent printed up, just in time for Christmas giving!  They are back in the shop on the website and also in the Etsy shop. I still don't have the prices set up for international orders, so please contact me ahead of time if you are out of the U.S.

Months after Kent's memorial, I traveled to his home to gather many of his things. Everyone in the family knew I wanted all the book and film stuff, including Kent. A year earlier he had asked me if there was something particular I would want after he was gone. When I told him I wanted all the book and film stuff he replied "Why would you want all that old stuff?" I told him people would be into it and that we really need to get the film on DVD. He agreed about the DVD and said he would work on it soon.

When we loaded up all his "old stuff" from his workshop on that very hot August day, there were three or four large boxes full of the "Gifts of an Eagle" books. They were books he had printed up and sold when he showed the film in person. It seemed like a ton of books and I thought I would have a supply forever.

But, now, 6.5 years later, they are all gone. All have been sold by me to all of you. Thanks so much for your continued interest in the story Kent lovingly wrote of Ed and Lady. Thank you for passing it on to friends and family.

If you never got a chance to get the book, you still have plenty of chances. There are many copies (most are the original Simon and Schuster printing) on Ebay and Amazon or perhaps at your local used book store.

I will continue to print and sell the DVD. Thanks so much to all of you for your continued support.

I posted a picture of Kent in his den a couple of weeks ago on Facebook and Holly, who had just read "A Fine and Peaceful Kingdom,"  asked if the airplane in the photo was the same on the flying squirrels favored. It was and her comment reminded me of something I had forgotten about.

So, instead of telling you the story, I'll let Kent tell the story. There is an excerpt from "A Fine and Peaceful Kingdom" about the squirrels and the model airplane now in the archive with the picture of Kent in his den.

There's a new book out right now that all Eagle enthusiasts will want to know about.  17 years in the making, David Ellis has collected and created a full anthology of anecdotes, mythology, history, sketches, observations, narratives and more to create a full and rich collection of information about the golden eagle.

Included in this book is a chapter from "Gifts of an Eagle" under the category "Eagle Intelligence".  

This is a beautiful book packed with information and wonderful illustrations and photographs. It would make a much appreciated gift for any Eagle lover.

You can find out more about "Enter the Realm of the Golden Eagle" on the publisher's website. You can see the large table of contents and read the first chapter.

"Enter the Realm of the Golden Eagle" is a well loved tribute and a welcome addition to books about the majestic golden eagle.

About the only thing Ed and Kent liked as much as eagles, hawks and wildlife was planes. Although Kent never learned to fly a plane, Ed, his brother and his best friend and brother-in-law, Wayne, all flew planes beginning around 1940, I believe.

Ed even built his first plane, maybe before the 1940's. He and Wayne built it from a kit and then actually got in it and flew it! That's brave!

Ed used to tell stories of his early days with the planes before the war. He would park it right on the beach at Moss Landing or Pismo, California and take people for ride for 25 cents. They'd fly around and then he would land right on the beach again. Ed liked to tell the story of a woman who paid for a plane ride with him one summer day and then proceeded to scream endlessly and strangle him - holding on tight to his neck while he flew because she was so scared. He didn't know if he'd ever make it out alive.

I saw this picture in the National Geographic archives recently and it reminded me of Ed's beach plane rides and his stories. Although this image is from Germany and from 1928, I figure it looked a little like this.

As a gift for my father, Kent and my grandpa, Ed, I created a new website for Gifts of an Eagle and am happy to launch it today - on Father's Day.

Please take a look around. There isn't too much new except design and layout, but I will continue to add new items from the archives. I have so many awesome things.

Thanks so much to all of you who have written to me or posted on Facebook and shared your experiences and history with Gifts of an Eagle. I love hearing your stories and I am so thankful when you pass on your love of this amazing story. As I have said many times, even growing up with it, I am still amazed at the story my grandfather and father were a part of with that majestic bird.

Happy Father's day, Dad and Grandpa!