January 02 – My Nature Journal

Bald Eagles

Today, I visited a local Bald Eagle nest and was privileged to watch the male and female interact at the nest.

Normally, Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) need isolation to breed successfully; encroaching humans can cause the eagles to abandon their nests, even after eggs are already laid.

However, this eagle pair chose to build their nest within the bounds of an established local park, and in a tree located quite close to a popular paved pathway. The birds didn’t react to the walkers, joggers, and bicyclists who passed by.

Nevertheless, I never want to stress or change the behavior of any wild animal, especially animals like Bald Eagles which need all the help they can get to survive. So I kept a respectful distance and watched through my telephoto lens.

The Bald Eagles rewarded my patience by changing shifts on the nest.

One adult was already on the nest when I arrived but was hard to see as it was hunkered down in the nest bowl. I assumed it was the female, but that was just a guess. Male and female adult Bald Eagles look similar except for a slight average size difference (females tend to be slightly larger than males) and size is very hard to judge without another bird for reference.

Suddenly, a second adult eagle winged in and swept around the nest in a wide circle. The eagle in the nest stood, shook out its feathers, and took off, presumably to fish for its lunch. Within a second or two of its departure, the incoming eagle landed on the nest and settled down facing the lake.

I’ve never been so close to an active Bald Eagle nest before. I’m so grateful for the chance to do so today and to the eagles for letting me watch their “changing of the guard”.