Saxe Pt. Park Eagles, Esquimalt BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

[sassyk]

March 27th cont'd.

First 2 photos were taken from the path leading up to the rock bluff. The sun was directly behind the nest tree.

Both eagles flew out over the ocean and I managed to captured one of them in flight.

[sassyk]

I visited the park on April 19th and saw one adult eagle perched above the nest. I could not get a good view of anything in the nest, except a lot of white feathers that looked like gull feathers. The weather was not very good that day and the sky was dark and overcast. I managed to capture a few photos of the nest and the eagle perched above.

[sassyk]

Apr. 19th cont'd.

A few pictures of the eagle perched above the nest.

[sassyk]

I visited the park this morning and did not see or hear any eagles in the area. It appears the nest has been falling in pieces over the season and the eagles did not produce any young. I captured the nest from various vantage points.

[gemini]

2023 Cam Maintenance
Matching Drive

It's that time of year - Vic at the White Rock nest fledged on July 12, and sibling Uni waited almost a week before fledging on July 18. Lof from Surrey Reserve is a week or so younger, and is beginning to get some height while flapping - I think it won't be long before we see her (or maybe him) trying out some of the branches! We know there's a chick at the Delta nest on the electrical tower, but without a cam, are not sure how close he or she is to fledging. We did lose an eaglet this year - brave, feisty Tyr from Surrey Reserve had some health and mobility issues but seemed to be doing okay although growing more slowly than most until suddenly he wasn't; I'll be adopting the Surrey nest for next year in memory of Tyr.

As I watch Lof moving around on the nest with wings held wide, I realize it will seem like just a hop, skip and a jump from now - and this year's eaglets will be off on their great adventure - and it will be time for us to get into as many nests as possible to clean the cams and do other needed maintenance.

We need your help so we can be prepared to see what happens next.

The first $1000 in donations toward our cam maintenance fund drive will be matched by long-time supporters of Hancock Wildlife - so the time to donate is now!

We'll have more details soon, but I know we'd like to have the cams at Surrey Reserve cleaned (which will cost around $1000) and it would be wonderful if we could get a cam at Delta that looks at the nest the eagles are using, as well as continuing to keep an eye on the one we'd like them to use (estimated cost $5-6000). We focused on the cams at White Rock last year, so unless there's an issue, we probably will skip them this year and plan to focus on them next year. There's a chance for a new cam at Harrison Mills, but we think the eagles have moved, so would need to find them or decide to focus on the eagles that fish in the river. And there may be other cams in the works!

If we can raise $7,000, we should be able to do the most essential work at Surrey Reserve and Delta. And with the matching drive, if you adopt Delta 2, Surrey Reserve or White Rock for next year for $250, Hancock Wildlife will get $500! Please note that adopting a nest is a sign of support for that nest, and we'll be using the funds where they are most needed - so please adopt White Rock if it's your favorite nest even though we probably won't need to do maintenance there this year - or adopt Harrison Mills, and we'll add your name there if we manage to get a camera there, or check with you a little later so you can choose to adopt a different nest or one of our tagged eagles with trackers.

The easiest way to adopt a nest is to

• go to the "Donations" page on our website (https://hancockwildlife.org/donations/ - or click the button below)
• click the "Donate via CanadaHelps Now!" link
• enter the amount of your donation ($250 to adopt the nest of your choice for the coming year)
• pick "Adopt a Nest" from the Fund list
• use the message box to say which nest (or tagged eagle) you are adopting and how you would like your name to be listed
• fill in your contact information and credit card details, and
• click "Complete Donation Now"

We've tried to answer some of the common questions about donating here - All About Donating - and please feel free to PM me or email me ([email protected]) or gemini ([email protected]) if you have other questions or concerns.

Thank You!

[JudyB]

2023 Cam Maintenance
Matching Drive
Update

We have raised over $3,000 already - almost half way to our goal! Thank you all so much!

And another supporter has come forward and pledged to match the next $500 in donations - so if you've been planning to donate, today is a great day to do that!

We already have 12 adoptions (2 each for Delta 2 and Harrison Mills, 3 each for Surrey Reserve and White Rock, one for tagged eagle Loki, and one person has not sent me their choice of nest or tagged eagle yet) - and nest adoptions have traditionally been the core of our fundraising for maintenance on the cams - so if that will work for you, please adopt a nest! Or two!

But I know that doesn't work for everyone, so I want to mention another option - we also have a core group who have signed up for monthly donations - and that consistent income helps with things like the cost of this forum, with its 1435 members, 662,126 posts and 1.2 million screenshots and other attachments. Thanks to all of you who post here, our forum has amazing documentation on a whole lot of eagles, not to mention osprey and various other critters - mostly in North America, but some from Europe and even Australia!

We encourage people to use CanadaHelps for monthly donations (actually, it's a great choice for all donations to HWF, and you don't need to be in Canada to use it). For those unfamiliar with CanadaHelps, it's a registered charity in Canada whose mission is to help smaller charities with their fundraising by handling the administrative stuff. If you're in Canada, they provide tax receipts automatically - and it's easier for gemini and me as the ones who track donations because there's a place for people to leave a comment so we know if they have an interest in a particular nest or tagged eagle - or what nest they want to adopt, if that's appropriate. Monthly donations can be cancelled at any time - or increased!

We are grateful to all of you who post observations, screenshots and videos - without you, there would be no forum, and no resource looking into the lives of so many eagles (and other critters) - thank you! And what is that saying about those who do the most being the ones asked to do more - if you can help out by adopting a nest, or signing up for monthly donations, or whatever you're comfortable doing, we would really appreciate it. Thank you for your consideration.

We've tried to answer some of the common questions about donating here - All About Donating - and please feel free to PM me or email me ([email protected]) or gemini ([email protected]) if you have other questions or concerns.

Thank You!

[sassyk]

This is the opening post for the Saxe Pt. Park Eagles for the 2023/2024 nesting season.

I visited the park on Nov. 21st and caught a glimpse of an adult eagle flying off towards Fleming Beach but did not see or hear any at the nest site. I took a few photos from various vantage points but couldn't determine if there were any new sticks in the nest.

My birding partner also visited the park earlier in the day and she saw an adult flying from the nest area out over the bay. It kept on going until it was out of sight!

[sassyk]

I visited the park on March 2nd but did not see or hear any eagles in the area. I took a few photos of the nest.

[sassyk]

I visited the park yesterday and saw both eagles being harassed by ravens

[sassyk]

Mar. 26th cont'd.

Both eagles flew from the nest tree to the big tree at the end of the driveway.

[sassyk]

Mar. 26th cont'd.

One last photo of the eagle before both of them flew off in the direction of their nest.

When I went back to the nest site I did not see or hear the eagles. However, one could have been lying down in the nest

My birding partner had been to the park in the morning of Mar. 26th and saw the eagles being harassed by the ravens. She said one eagle was in the nest tree and the other one was in a Doug fir nearby. It then chased a raven and flew into the nest. Then it popped up onto a branch above the nest. Both adults were in the nest tree and calling out to the raven. She didn't stay long because it was very windy!