Nest History

Before the cams were installed:

The original nest tree we watched was only about 100 feet from the back porch of the man who generously provided the cameras, and the nest was about 120 feet up the tree. It was built in November 2009 after the pair’s original nest, 500 yards south of this site, was disturbed by construction. The eagles successfully raised two chicks, named Alpha and Bravo by the landowner, at this new nest in 2010.

2011-2013

The eagles here laid two eggs in 2011, the first year we watched, and Charlie and Delta fledged successfully.  There were two eggs again in 2012, and Echo and Foxtrot fledged successfully.  The nest was looking a bit precarious by the end of the 2012 nesting season, so when David Hancock installed additional PTZ cams, he made sure they would also provide a look at another tree that looked promising for a nest, and may have added a few branches to help them get started in case they decide to move.  2013 was a hard year at White Rock; it appeared to many observers that a new, possibly young, pair took over the nest. They laid two eggs, but were not consistent about incubating them, and near the hatch date, a sub adult landed while the adults were away and broke one of the eggs; David Hancock reviewed the video of the event, and said it looked as if the embryo had stopped developing at 10-12 days, probably from lack of incubation.  The second egg was broken a few days later and also appeared only minimally developed.

2014-2016

We don’t know if the original pair returned in 2014 or if the previous year’s pair had matured, but there were three eggs laid; one was damaged during the nesting season, but the other two hatched and Indy and Jules fledged successfully.  There were two eggs in 2015, and Kilo and Lima fledged successfully – but about two weeks after they fledged, while they were still using the nest for food drops – the nest came down. We were very happy that both fledglings were old enough that they didn’t need a nest.  The eagles built a new nest for 2016, in a tree which was just barely visible from one of the cams; local observers reported that they appeared to be incubating, and we eventually saw two chicks (who were not named).  The new nest fell down when the chicks were about 10 weeks old, and fortunately both chicks were able to cling to branches, and there was enough nest left that one at a time could lie down, at least initially. The eaglets were fed on the branches, and both fledged successfully and spent several weeks in the area, visiting the old nest tree and the human-built nest, so were eventually seen up close on the cams.

2017-2020

In preparation for 2017, some supports were added to the new nest tree and cams were installed – and happily they used the nest, laid two eggs – and Mary (after David Hancock’s late wife Mary Scott) and Oscar (returning to the aviation alphabet) fledged successfully.  There were intruders in the area in 2018 (David Hancock says three pairs have nests that are too close for comfort) and the female appeared to have been injured defending her territory; she held the territory and recovered, but they did not lay any eggs.  Unfortunately, 2019 was a repeat of 2018 (without any injuries) – the eagles were around, but did not lay any eggs.  In 2020 the adults seemed to be working on their nest more than in the past two years – and it worked!  They laid two eggs, one of which hatched; the eaglet was named Quebec.  Quebec had an unusual fledge – flying off the nest around 3 am when only 75 days old; we assume something startled her/him, though there was nothing obvious.  Happily Quebec returned to the nest 5 days later and spent almost a month flying in and out and being fed by the parents before heading out into the world.

2021

2021 started a bit differently, with raccoons visiting the nest for several days (and nights) in the middle of February; happily they did not stay, and the eagles continued working on the nest.  The usual time for eggs came and went – and then, a month later than usual, they laid a single egg.  Eaglet Romeo fledged normally and successfully, and was seen coming and going for 12 days.  The adults usually leave around the first week of August; this year Mom left on August 18, a day after Romeo left (Dad may have been around but wasn’t seen on camera after maybe the 15th).

2022

The pair returned as usual and set to work building a new nest in a tree nearer the water; fortunately the nest could be seen with all three cams, but at a distance with a partially obstructed view.  We’re not sure how many eggs were laid, but in time saw two tiny chicks peeking over the top of the nest; they were named Sierra and Tango.  Sadly, both of them died when they were about 6-1/2 weeks old; they had seemed fine until a day or two before when it appeared that they weren’t eating as much as usual, although it was hard to tell with the partially obstructed view.  Eventually we realized that they hadn’t moved at all for a long time.  We were not able to recover the remains for testing, but suspect they died of avian flu, which was prevalent in the area.  Happily both adults survived, and left on their summer break at the usual time.

2023

Both adults were back by mid-October, and moved back to the nest with the cams.  They laid two eggs, and Uni and Vic (short for Uniform and Victor) hatched, grew and fledged successfully.  You can see pictures of Vic’s fledge on our forum starting here and pictures of Uni’s fledge start here.