That night, Kent sat down in the large house that Audubon had provided for him and started to write about the remarkable story that he had been a part of for the last sixteen years. Little did they know through all the years that Ed and Kent were filming and training Lady that the real story they were documenting was the curious and deep relationship between Lady and Ed Durden.
The book that Kent started that night was Gifts of an Eagle. It was published by Simon and Schuster in 1972. It spent eight weeks on the NY Times best sellers list. Two books and a film followed. The film, Gifts of an Eagle, told the story of Lady all in original footage taken by Kent and Ed.
For the last 25 years, while building houses in California's Gold Country, Kent Durden has taken some time to still show his film and tell the story of Lady. The book and film are still available here.
I am his daughter and wanted people to be able to find information about Lady, Ed and Kent on the web. I met Lady, I witnessed much of the story and have seen the film many times and yet I find myself still overwhelmed with the tender images and amazing story of that big bird and my grandfather.
Krissy Durden
