Free Range Photography

It’s been one of the sweetest blessings of my life that I’ve been able to watch a pair of Bald Eagles raise a family almost every year for the last 16 years. A handful of times they have not brought a youngster to fledging maturity, and twice they have fledged a pair of young, but each year is a unique opportunity to watch this life-affirming miracle play out.

Bald Eagles mate for life but there’s no way to know if these are the same two eagles I first saw back in 2011 because when one of an established pair dies, another mate will be found, and so on. Given the 15-25 year lifespan of eagles in the wild, if either of the current birds were actively nesting 16 years ago, they’d be getting up there in years. If one or both are indeed the originals, it speaks to the health of the local environment that they have been sustained and mostly successful all this time.

Also, a new nest was built last year, maybe a quarter mile downstream from the old one. Because I saw the old nest being worked on in 2025 before the new one was built, I am guessing it was the same pair who just, for whatever reason, decided to relocate. But perhaps it was a new pair who checked out the former abode and decided they liked the downstream location better. Not knowing is part of the thrill.

I’ve read that some pairs maintain more than one nest and choose between them each year, so maybe that’s what’s happening. I won’t infer that the birds are Republicans with vacation home tax write-offs. The old nest has a tall growth of grass in it now. I’ve read that sometimes owls take over abandoned eagle nests. I heard Barred Owls in the vicinity last year, but not this year, at least so far.