Yesterday morning I headed back to check up on that Bald Eagles nest that I’ve been monitoring for the past couple of months. Once again, I just saw the male bird with his mate nowhere to be seen. Although I still think it’s possible that she may be brooding inside the nest (therefore I can’t see her from my vantage point) I’m starting to wonder now if this is actually an active nest site. Bald Eagles do tend to have their favorite perches so maybe it’s just a coincidence that this one’s favorite spot to hang out happens to be here.
It is puzzling though because I did see him and a female bringing sticks to this nest about a month ago. It certainly appeared that they were improving the nest structure at the time. Guess only time will tell whether or not this nest will yield chicks in a few weeks. Ahh birds. Always making me ask more questions about their behavior then answering them. Just when I think I’ve got something right, they go and maybe “pretend” to build a nest to throw me off. What are you gonna do haha?! It’s ok though. At least I’ve had the opportunity to get out every week to photograph Bald Eagles. Not a darn thing wrong with that. 😉 I’ll keep you updated with this nesting site so that we can see how this shakes out together.
Last week, I had the opportunity to head down to Jordan Lake near Moncure, N.C. to photograph a flocking population of migrant Bald Eagles. While snapping off some shots of a few juveniles fishing in the Haw River area, a pair of adults flew in and I got to see them swooping and sailing together right above the water.
With the breeding season underway here in central North Carolina, Bald Eagle behaviors change, as they shift from away from a largely independent life to living together as a couple. This time period is known as “pair bonding,” and it’s a critical part of their breeding cycle. As time passes, their courtship intensifies with both birds engaging in incredible aerial displays. Bonded pairs will fly high in the air, lock talons, and fall toward the earth, holding together as the ground approaches, and releasing just in time to avert disaster. It’s one of nature’s most awesome sights, and more that a little dangerous. So what’s the point of this of risky behavior?
Bald Eagle courtship rituals reinforce the pair’s commitment to each other, which is important for propagation of the species. After all, they need to stick together to hatch, feed and care for their young.
A less obvious (but interesting!) thing about Bald Eagle courtship displays is that they actually stimulate the birds so they release the appropriate hormones to optimize egg fertilization once copulation takes place.
Nest update! I made a trip up to the Bald Eagle nest site that I’m monitoring for the ARMY Corps of Engineers at Jordan Lake on Wednesday to check out how things were going. This time I only spotted what I believe is the male bird chilling out on his bare branch above the nest.
It’s quite possible that the female was sitting inside the nest but from my vantage point it’s tough to tell, especially if the structure has a deep well. You’d be surprised just how well a nesting Bald Eagle can conceal itself from someone viewing it from the ground level simply by flattening it’s body down into the sticks, lol!
Nothing to dramatic to report but gosh it’s so awesome to see this awesome bird out in the wild. Fingers crossed that I can confirm that the eggs have been laid next week. 🦅 *Nest location will not be disclosed. Please don’t ask where these shots were taken, GPS data has been scrubbed. This is to protect the birds as Bald Eagles are particularly sensitive to human interaction during nesting season. They are easily spooked off of their nest by people which can lead to nest failure (cold eggs and starving chicks) so it’s vital that they remain undisturbed during this time. In case you’re wondering how I captured these seemingly “up close” photos, these shots were taken from 700+ feet away with a zoom lens & then the final images were cropped at 90%. Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc Canon 5Ds
Discovering a Bald Eagle nest is an exciting thing! My participation within the ARMY’s Corps of Engineers Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring program presents a rare opportunity to document the life cycle of these majestic birds in the wild. As a wildlife photographer, this is a dream come true! But with this experience, comes a deep sense of responsibility to ensure that my actions do not alter the birds behavior by disturbing them on the nest.
The FWS has released a Bald Eagle Technical Assistance bulletin which lays out the regulatory guidelines for the protection of nesting eagles. I have highlighted some of the finer points of the document below as it applies to my activities conducted within the scope of the ARMY Corps of Engineers Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring Program .
“Oct 1 – May 15 are the general nesting season dates used for guidance in the south east (including North Carolina). All technical assistance guidance applies to nesting eagles including adults, eggs or young, whenever they are present for breeding purposes.”
“Non-motorized recreation including hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, canoeing”
“If you repeatedly walk, bike, canoe, camp, fish, or hunt (e.g. commercial operations) near an eagle nest during the breeding season and your activity will be visible or can be heard from the nest stay at least 330 feet (100 meters) from the nest, unless the eagles have demonstrated tolerance for similar activities.
“None of these activities near a nest would disturb the eagles if the activity cannot be seen or heard from the nest.”
Obviously these regulations restrict my ability to gather behavioral data and photograph the eagles up close which is just fine because I use a zoom lens combined with the mighty Canon 5DS camera. This equipment allows me to capture photographs from a great distance away without disturbing the Eagles on the nest.
The picture below shows what it looks like form my vantage point photographing the nest that I discovered earlier this month at Jordan Lake Park.
This photo was captured with a Canon 5DS paired with a Canon 70-200 mm lens zoomed all the way in. It’s not great (yes, I know I need a better zoom lens, lol!) but it’s certainly a better view than trying to watch the birds without my camera.This is a cropped version of the same photograph posted above. The Canon 5DS’s 50 MP sensor gives me the ability to crop original photos to bring my far away subjects closer to the viewer. More importantly, I am able to capture images of the Eagles without stressing them out.
But why is it really so important for us to keep our distances from Bald eagle nests? What does the law say?
“The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The MBTA and the Eagle Act protect bald eagles from a variety of harmful actions and impacts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) developed these National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines to advise landowners, land managers, and others who share public and private lands with bald eagles when and under what circumstances the protective provisions of the Eagle Act may apply to their activities.
A variety of human activities can potentially interfere with bald eagles, affecting their ability to forage, nest, roost, breed, or raise young. The Guidelines are intended to help people minimize such impacts to bald eagles, particularly where they may constitute “disturbance,” which is prohibited by the Eagle Act. The Guidelines are intended to: (1) Publicize the provisions of the Eagle Act that continue to protect bald eagles, in order to reduce the possibility that people will violate the law, (2) Advise landowners, land managers and the general public of the potential for various human activities to disturb bald eagles, and (3) Encourage additional nonbinding land management practices that benefit bald eagles
If agitated by human activities, bald eagles may inadequately construct or repair their nest, may expend energy defending the nest rather than tending to their young, or may abandon the nest altogether.
Activities that cause prolonged absences of adults from their nests can jeopardize eggs or young. Depending on weather conditions, eggs may overheat or cool too much and fail to hatch. Unattended eggs and nestlings are subject to predation. Young nestlings are particularly vulnerable because they rely on their parents to provide warmth or shade, without which they may die as a result of hypothermia or heat stress.
If food delivery schedules are interrupted, the young may not develop healthy plumage, which can affect their survival. In addition, adults startled while incubating or brooding young may damage eggs or injure their young as they abruptly leave the nest.
Older nestlings no longer require constant attention from the adults, but they may be startled by loud or intrusive human activities and prematurely jump from the nest before they are able to fly or care for themselves. Once fledged, juveniles range up to ¼ mile from the nest site, often to a site with minimal human activity. During this period, until about six weeks after departure from the nest, the juveniles still depend on the adults to feed them.
The impact of human activity on foraging and roosting bald eagles disruption, destruction, or obstruction of roosting and foraging areas can also negatively affect bald eagles. Disruptive activities in or near eagle foraging areas can interfere with feeding, reducing chances of survival. Interference with feeding can also result in reduced productivity (number of young successfully fledged).
Migrating and wintering bald eagles often congregate at specific sites for purposes of feeding and sheltering. Bald eagles rely on established roost sites because of their proximity to sufficient food sources. Roost sites are usually in mature trees where the eagles are somewhat sheltered from the wind and weather. Human activities near or within communal roost sites may prevent eagles from feeding or taking shelter, especially if there are not other undisturbed and productive feeding and roosting sites available.
Activities that permanently alter communal roost sites and important foraging areas can altogether eliminate the elements that are essential for feeding and sheltering eagles. Where a human activity agitates or bothers roosting or foraging bald eagles to the degree that causes injury or substantially interferes with breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior and causes, or is likely to cause, a loss of productivity or nest abandonment, the conduct of the activity constitutes a violation of the Eagle Act’s prohibition against disturbing eagles.”
I think that it is important that we conduct ourselves responsibly when in the field in any capacity. Understanding the risks humans pose to altering the nesting behavior of Bald Eagles and adjusting our own behavior just seems like common sense 🙂
Nest update! I’m pleased to report that this morning, I was able to confirm that the nest site that I found a few days ago at Jordan Lake is indeed a brand new Bald Eagle aerie. I watched the pair for a little over an hour as they moved in and out of the nest before one took off and flew out of sight (to hunt I suppose). The remaining bird ended up sitting on a bare branch preening in the sun till his mate returned.
Bald Eagles lay between 1-3 eggs per clutch but I don’t believe this hen has laid their eggs yet due to her behavior at (and away from) the nest. When the time comes, their eggs will be laid about 3 days apart, with incubation beginning with the laying of the first egg. This offers full protection to the entire clutch from predators and to ensure that the eggs don’t hatch at the same time.
Each individual egg takes 35 days of incubation — give or take a few hours which means that the chicks will hatch 3 days apart. This odd laying pattern is to facilitate the success of the healthy development of at the very least, one Bald Eagle chick. When prey is scarce, the strongest of the brood (usually the first hatched) will end up eating most or all of the food due to its 3 day growth / strength advantage over its siblings. Sadly, this means that in leaner times, 1 or 2 of the chicks per brood will not make it to fledge status. In times where prey is plentiful, all of the chicks will have a good chance of survival under the care of their parents.
Luckily, the food supply here at Jordan Lake seems to be plentiful which lends itself to higher rates of success of the number of eaglets growing into adulthood here in this special place.
I’m excited to report that I’ve teamed up with the ARMY Corps of Engineers to help monitor Bald Eagle nests at Jordan Lake for the 2020 season. 🦅 This is a team effort, a joint project between the public & private (volunteer) sector to collect nesting data for breeding Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake. My duties will include spending at least 4 hours a month watching nests and taking behavioral notes as the birds raise their families.
Due to the efforts made by the ARMY Corps of Engineers along with Eagle lovers like you and me, Jordan Lake now boats the one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast. Every year brings a new generation of these incredible birds into the world (like the two youngsters featured in these photographs) and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing to see how their nesting pair numbers have grown from zero in the 1980’s to now. Today, nearly every large body of water here in N.C. has at least an Eagle or two living nearby. I’ve even started seeing them commonly hunting for fish at smaller ponds and lakes like Yates Mill Pond and Bass Lake Park here in the Triangle. Remarkable!
I’m so excited, can’t wait to get some great photos, learn new things, and contribute to the conservation efforts of protecting these incredible birds.
A pair of Bald Eagles at a new nest at Jordan Lake Park
Found a new *possible* Bald Eagle nest this morning while birding at Jordan Lake. Not going to say where it’s at exactly, but I’m very happy to see these two!
This is the time of year that Bald Eagles start laying their eggs, but I’m thinking that this pair haven’t started their clutch yet. Both birds rarely sat still and were busy arranging sticks and rummaging around in the nest.
I’ve reported my find to the ARMY Corps of Engineers nesting project for confirmation of possible new listing & I’ll be returning to the site over the next week to double check that this is indeed an active nest. Very cool to see these large raptors thriving in central NC. Looking forward to seeing what happens!
I’m excited to report that I’ve teamed up with the ARMY Corps of Engineers to help monitor Bald Eagle nests at Jordan Lake for the 2020 season. 🦅 This is a team effort, a joint project between the public & private (volunteer) sector to collect nesting data for breeding Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake. My duties will include spending at least 4 hours a month watching nests and taking behavioral notes as the birds raise their families.
Due to the efforts made by the ARMY Corps of Engineers along with Eagle lovers like you and me, Jordan Lake now boats the one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast. Every year brings a new generation of these incredible birds into the world (like the two youngsters featured in these photographs) and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing to see how their nesting pair numbers have grown from zero in the 1980’s to now. Today, nearly every large body of water here in N.C. has at least an Eagle or two living nearby. I’ve even started seeing them commonly hunting for fish at smaller ponds and lakes like Yates Mill Pond and Bass Lake Park here in the Triangle. Remarkable!
I’m so excited, can’t wait to get some great photos, learn new things, and contribute to the conservation efforts of protecting these incredible birds.
To learn more , check out the link below. Here you will find information about the programs efforts across the United States.
Bald Eagle Recovery Efforts at Corps of Engineers Projects
Did you know that Jordan Lake State Recreation Area still boasts one of the highest populations of nesting Bald Eagles on the east coast? Most of the ones I’ve encountered are found near the Jordan dam which is maintained by the US ARMY Corps of Enjineers, but they can be seen circling the skies almost everywhere above the lake. Since these birds can be a bit shy, a longer lens will be a big help if you decide to visit with photography in mind. Also, don’t forget to listen for their calls as they are most easily located by their frequent schreeeeeches in the tall trees along the densely wooded shoreline.
I photographed this juvenile and adult just a few hours after Hurricane Dorian pulled away from the Raleigh N.C. area. Such a beautiful bird! 🙂
LOCATION INFORMATION:
Bird watching tours, trips, adventures and birder news in North Carolina and beyond
