Eagle Nest Update July 14, 2025

When I arrived at the Benbow Bald Eagle nest watching spot last Monday I could hear the juvenile crying loudly and persistently. The sound made me smile as last week I heard very little crying and saw very little action in or around the nest.

*A Where’s Waldo moment. Can you spot the eaglet’s face? (Look just above the center of the frame, slightly to the left. The nest is lower right.)*

I am used to not being able to see the bird when it is situated behind a branch that obscures the whole left side of the nest, but usually, when there is this much noise there is also the kind of motion that eventually brings the youngster into view. I scanned with momanxiousness all around the nest wondering if there had been a fall or an injury or…..? It was hard to pinpoint where the sound was coming from due to the distance.

*Wings flapping from the branching spot.*

This video shows the young eagle hopping down from its new perch, doing a bit of housekeeping, eating, and practicing jumping and flapping its wings.

After nearly a half hour of this racket, I was overjoyed to see wings flapping slightly above and to the left of the nest as the young eagle was preparing to hop back down into the nest bowl after “branching” onto a nearby limb of the nest tree.

*Another (partial) view of the bird from its branching perch.*

Branching is the term used to describe these very early “flights” from the nest to a safe distance away in the nest tree. I suspect strong legs are as much of a factor in their success as wings. I also realized this new nest seems to provide far better branching opportunities than the previous one because it is wedged into a part of the tree that has many more branches densely spaced–hence the poor views in.

Here is the old nest, about 150 yards upstream (wild guessing). You can see that the nearby branches are more spread out and might present a more difficult learning curve for branching. Sometimes we would see the eaglet up on one of the branches above and left.

*The parent and youngster together after a food delivery.*

After hopping back down into the nest, rather gracefully, I might add, one of the parents arrived and there was much squeeing as food was handed off. The adult then flew about 15 yards away and perched in another tree, facing away from the nest. After eating, the eaglet resumed persistent crying and was frequently replied to by the nearby parent whose posture struck me as a bit odd. Usually the adults stand angled so that they can view the nest.

*After delivering food the parent perched in a nearby tree, facing away from the youngster.*

*Here is a zoomed out view of the nest, far left, and the odd positioning of the parent, far right. Where’s Waldo 2.0.*

Later, I got to see the juvenile hop back over to that same branch that is up to the left and behind the nest, from which its original cries were originating. I was so hoping it would instead hop onto a branch that is in plain view just out in front of the nest, but no such luck. There was a lot of flapping and crying, followed by another commuter flight back into the nest bowl, another visit from the adult, and at one point I even heard the second parent singing in the distance.

Cramped quarters. When the young eagle jumps to strengthen its legs and coordinate with flapping wings, its head is blocked by branches. I love seeing it get airborne like this. You can just make out that the pointy tips of the feathers are not quite fully developed. The first feathers of eagles, and many other big heavy birds, are larger and longer than their fully adult feathers to provide more lift.

Calling and jumping. Practice makes perfect. A lot of white feathers are on this bird’s underside. It takes five years for an eagle to develop the perfect while head and tail. Along the way, the amount of and placement of the white plumage can help age the bird.

As I left this amazing and beautiful scene I realized that there was a chance the whole family might be gone by the time I return next week, although in years past, even after fledging, the family has stayed in the valley for a few weeks as the eaglet gets more competent at flying and also still needs to be fed. Whether I see them again depends on when actual fledging takes place as well as which direction in the valley they travel as flight school continues. Meal delivery will be able to happen anywhere, and indeed, way back in 2011 when I first started watching the Benbow Bald Eagles I saw an adult with prey in a tree maybe 20 yards from the nest, enticing the youngster to fly out of the nest for the food. Whatever happens, this has been a joyous return to successful Bald Eagle nesting in the Benbow valley for the first time since 2022.