Free Range Photography

When I arrived at the nest-watching spot on Monday, a thick fog completely blocking the view across the valley to the nest was just breaking up and was being replaced by harsh hazy sunlight. It took me a while to even find the new nest, partly because it is so far away and much more obscured from view than the old one, but also because of the difficult light.

I finally located it and snapped a few pics, but was not able to see any sign of an incubating eagle sitting in the bowl.

The longer I waited without seeing or hearing any sign of either parent eagle, the more I began to think that nesting was just not going to happen this year. This would be the latest start I have seen in the 15 years I’ve been watching, so the odds were not improving. Finally, one adult Bald Eagle appeared high in the sky roughly above where the nest is located. It circled around for the better part of ten minutes, joined on its thermal float by a Northern Harrier, a Cooper’s Hawk, and an American Kestrel. It finally disappeared without approaching the nest.

A few minutes later, what I assumed was the same eagle reappeared over the river, flying straight downstream in the direction of the nest. My heart leaped and I hoped I was going to see it land in the nest. Instead it flew past the nest and instead landed in a tree about 50 yards downstream. It sat there for a good half hour before taking off, rising high into the sky, and circling overhead briefly before disappearing again.

After nearly three hours of watching hopefully, I gave up and went home, somewhat convinced that for the third year in a row, this pair of eagles was not going to have a successful nest. However, when I got home and enlarged the snaps on my computer I noticed what looked like a white head was visible in one shot but missing in the next, a sure sign that one of the parents was indeed sitting in the nest bowl. This told me that incubation is most likely happening!

Based on how long it’s been since I’ve been up there to watch, incubation could have started as early as March 9, or as late as March 23, making mid-April through late May the window of a possible hatch. All talons crossed for a new healthy eaglet coming into the world. (Apologies for the poor quality pics, but I wanted to share the exciting news, and it’s raining again so who knows when I’ll get up there next?)