Young bald eagle Luna takes maiden flight in California

In the mountains east of Los Angeles, a young bald eagle named Luna left her nest for the first time, crossing a small stretch of sky in Big Bear Valley while thousands watched — some through binoculars, others through screens. Her brief, effortful glide to a nearby tree was, in the larger sense, a chapter in the long American story of a species pulled back from the edge of extinction. That so many strangers chose to witness it — in person and online — speaks to something enduring in the human need to watch wild things survive.