Eagles in the News

A place for general information, Q's and A's and news about eagles
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JudyB
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Eagles in the News

Post by JudyB » Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:13 am

This thread is intended to call attention to articles of general interest about eagles.

It's also a place where people can discuss the articles posted in the Wildlife News area of the website.

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sassyk
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by sassyk » Sun Mar 04, 2018 10:48 am

Article in the Abbotsford News:

here
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by elle » Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:38 am

Article in today's Victoria Times Colonist is so full of misinformation I wrote a letter to the editor.
Ogden Point is where the cruise ships dock.
Ogden Point

My response:

There is a lot of misinformation in this article.
Bald Eagles do not prefer to nest in dead trees. And a 12 foot fake nest is definitely not tall enough to attract a nesting pair.
The pair currently seen often at Ogden Point are either from the nest at Beacon Hill Park or possibly the one at Saxe Point Park in Esquimalt. Our local Bald Eagles prey on gulls and gulls have become a staple of their diet so even if they did nest there nothing would change.
I have been monitoring Bald Eagle nests in Victoria and environs for 10 years as a member of a Wildlife Foundation. There are currently 6 active nests along the coast between Ogden Point and Uplands; none in dead trees and all at least 80-100 feet above the ground.
This structure may very well attract an Osprey pair though.
Nice idea, but sadly ill informed.

Lynda Robson
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sassyk
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by sassyk » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:56 am

I don't get the TC paper so I'm glad that you sent a letter to the editor. Good for you :thumlft: That article certainly does have a lot of misinformation and I'm wondering if they spoke to someone who knows anything about eagles :roll: A 12-foot fake nest is an absurdly naive idea :angry:

Actually, I have been told a few times that eagles were nesting in the area where they are building the new waste/pump station. They probably won't be nesting there this season with all that construction going on :( I have also seen adults and juvenile eagles perched in the trees in that area while I've been on a cruise ship docked at Ogden Point. However, I have not found a nest. I used to be able to drive to the end of the road but now they have the entire area blocked off.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by elle » Thu Mar 29, 2018 3:39 pm

sassyk: I am glad you agree. My letter was published in the Times Colonist this morning . It was altered a bit ( stating metres instead of feet ) but basically the same.
I do not get the TC either but view it on line. You can do that too. When I later saw the paper version, the picture and article were on the front page!
I did not want to write a lengthy letter and I cannot write a second one now so If you are so inclined , Kay, I would appreciate if you would also write a letter of agreement with mine and perhaps address why eagles would not want to have a nest weighing up 500 kgs in a dead tree , how they mate for life and return and add to a nest every year and also about how territorial they are so nests too close together would ultimately lead to fighting and injuries and death. Not a good thing.
I am going to contact Mr Sirois of Friends of Victoria Harbour Migratory Birds who suggested and is implementing a fake tree and John Briant of Western Stevedoring who has the gull problem. Mr Sirois says in the article he wants the city to install snags for bald eagles to nest in! And says other BC communities have done this. I do not want to insult him but this is ludicrous!
I have just returned from Mayne Island and what a mecca for Bald Eagles it is !! Yesterday we witnessed over 20 adults and a few juvies diving in the rapid water off Georgina Point, presumably for herring? I have lots of pix and videos..... where should I post them?

My letter

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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by sassyk » Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:49 pm

elle re your eagle photos: there is a sub-forum for 'Other Eagle Pictures and Observations' in the forum 'Eagle Nests Across North America-And The World'. You could create a new thread in that sub-forum. If you don't want to do that, the name of the thread I created in the sub-forum 'Nests in BC - with Ground Observers' titled 'Central & North Vancouver Island Eagles, BC' could be changed to include the Gulf Islands. Let me know if you would prefer this option and I will change the name of the thread and ask Sharon to edit the name in the forum site map.

I wasn't able to open the link to your letter in the TC because I have exceeded my allowance of free articles and I am not going to pay for a subscription to the TC.

I did a Google search and found the article on the CTV news here which explains that the 'fake nest tree' is installed on the roof of the warehouse. The TC article said 'A faux tree built to be a bald eagle love nest is standing at Ogden Point'. There is another article with video on the CTV News site here. Both John Briant and Jacques Sirois are interviewed. After reading those articles and watching the videos I'm not sure I will be writing a letter to the editor of the TC. It's obvious the reporter didn't bother to do any research but it's also very naive of the 2 fellows to think eagles will nest in one of those fake trees. Perhaps they should be given the links to some sites that provide information on eagles.

Everywhere you look buildings and poles have been installed with those 'spiky things'; perhaps they could install those on the roof of the warehouse or build a new elevated/slanted/peaked metal roof on it which probably would be less expensive than building a bunch of 'fake trees' that cost a few thousand dollars each.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by elle » Fri Mar 30, 2018 7:45 am

Kay: When you get the box asking you to subscribe to the TC you can click on the lower option and provide your email addy and then you are good to go for free. I do not want to pay $ 58.00 a year either. So far so good for me and it has been months since I tried that. Every once in a while I get that pop up box again and I just click on the lower option that states I already have free on line subscription.

I will open a new thread for the Gulf Islands. I have pictures from Salt Spring Island and Saturna as well and we plan to go to Galiano in the next couple of months.

I spoke with Mr Briant yesterday afternoon and will be seeing him next week. He was flabberghasted at the press this faux nest is getting . I told him my husband potentially has an easy solution for the problem as he solved it once already for his parents' condo block. I can't believe they spent thousands already. The gulls nest on roofs all around town and the eagles do not miss a chance to cruise the rooftops every day. I plan to call Mr Sirois as well but it is a holiday weekend so I will postpone that until next week too. I found the interview very frustrating and False Creek in Vancouver cannot be compared to Victoria!

Yes. Very poor reporting and the reason I rarely watch the news.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by sassyk » Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:13 pm

I went on to the TC site and entered my email (awkward round-about way of doing it) but I got a message to say I was accepted. It was frustrating to see a post on Facebook and then when I clicked on the article I didn't have access to it :angry:

If Ian has a solution for the problem I hope Mr. Briant will give it some thought and discuss it with others involved. I don't suppose they realize they would have a bigger problem if eagles were nesting on 'fake trees' on the roof :roll:

We have been in many ports around the world where seagulls and other birds nest on top of warehouses and terminal buildings and it is fun to watch but it does get smelly and messy at nesting time. However, Beacon Hill Park also gets smelly and messy when the herons are nesting but that doesn't stop me and other people from visiting the area.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by elle » Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:57 pm

Kay: I hope you can now access the TC for free. I know I got very frustrated when I was repeatedly kicked out after reading a few articles and so I just happened across what I think and hope is a free solution. It has been free for me for many months now.
Yes I tried to convey the message in my letter that even if eagles were to nest in that fake structure they would still be bringing in carcasses of gulls and other smelly things.
But I always marvel when David and Karen clean cams and they both say there is never anything rotting or any bad smells in any of the nests.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by jkr » Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:21 pm

Trans Mountain blocked eagle nesting perch at Westridge Marine Terminal
By AINSLIE CRUICKSHANKStarMetro Vancouver
Mon., April 16, 2018

The company says it has the right permit and built an artificial nest further from its work site, but local birders and an environmental group fear Kinder Morgan’s mitigation strategy is ‘no wildlife, no problem.’
screenshot_102.jpg
VANCOUVER— A local environmental organization is concerned about Trans Mountain’s approach to dealing with wildlife after the company blocked access to an eagle nesting perch on its Westridge Marine Terminal property by installing a silver cone over it.

Full story: HERE
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by elle » Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:21 am

Thanks for that explanation Karen. The more directly involved I am with news articles the more infuriating they are because of misinformation. It really makes one wonder about all the other news we read and that is why I do not watch the news but I do read articles.
Another recent case in point: The 3 ft structure that was built on the roof of one of the buildings at Ogden Point where the cruise ships dock here in Victoria has a gull problem. Gulls nest there and they would like to deter them from doing so. The article, which was on the front page of our local newspaper, said the ( ridiculous) structure was built in hopes of attracting a Bald Eagle pair to nest there. Long story short....... I wrote a letter to the editor and it was published . I spoke with the stevedore at Ogden Point and the other fellow who was involved and named in the article contacted me and we had a long chat. He said the structure was put there in hopes the eagles who often perch on the lamp posts in the parking lot would perch on that roof instead and in so doing would keep the gulls away. It was never meant as a seed for a nest. It is so unprofessional to report misinformation and unfortunate that we have to check facts.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by Darlene » Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:58 am

Thanks Karen for clarifying this situation. :thumlft:
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by elle » Wed Apr 18, 2018 8:55 am

And Karen, I would classify " fake news" as total fabrication not misinformation.
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by jkr » Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:36 am

Karen and Lynda, you will be happy to know the story has been updated and corrected by The Star.

Biologist says eagles are now using alternative nest perch

By Ainslie Cruikshank
April 19, 2018


VANCOUVER — The biologist who advised Trans Mountain to block an eagle nesting perch on the company’s Westridge Marine Terminal property during construction says the cone was the best option for the eagles.

David Hancock, a biologist who has studied eagles in B.C. for more than 60 years, and his colleague biologist Myles Lamont, also confirmed Thursday that the eagles are using the alternate nesting site they established for the raptors in the meantime. It looks like they are incubating eggs, Hancock said.

Full story HERE
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Re: Eagles in the News

Post by SueD » Fri May 04, 2018 1:28 pm

This happened off Cape Sable Island, near where I live. So happy these guys turned around and rescued this precious eagle!

‘I guess he would have been a goner’ – Cape Sable Island fishermen rescue golden eagle
ANDREW RANKIN
The Chronicle Herald, Halifax
May 4, 2018

The young golden eagle had been aboard the lobster boat for a couple of hours before realizing Justin Conrad and the crew were saving his life.

“He was a bit lifeless at first,” recalled Conrad of the moments immediately after rescuing the creature a few kilometres off Seal Island on Wednesday afternoon. “We put him down at the sleeping quarters of the boat and a few hours later he started perking up.

“We started shaking and fluffing his feathers, and he just kind of started staring at us the whole way back to shore and I think he kind of understood we were trying to help.”

Full story here: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia ... ishermen-r
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