Southern Vancouver Island & Lower Mainland BC Eagle Nests - 2019-2024 Seasons

[sassyk]

I visited the nest area last evening and was pleased to see 2 big healthy looking eaglet; one was perched at the top of the nest tree, the 2nd one was perched on a small branch at the front of the nest. I did not see or hear any adults in the area.

[sassyk]

I reported on this nest on July 8th and there was one eaglet sitting up in the nest.
I visited this nest again very briefly on July 14th with my birding partner and we could not say for sure that we saw an eaglet. There were a lot of shadows on the nest and in the surrounding trees but we assumed the eaglet had branched or fledged and was perched somewhere nearby. This nest is visible from the Pat Bay Highway on the way out to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.

Some of the adjacent trees.

[sassyk]

I reported on this nest on July 6th. It is viewable from Central Saanich Rd. and is close to Oldfield Rd. I visited the site again on July 14th with my birding partner and we had a difficult time trying to find the 2 eaglets in the surrounding trees. They have both fledged and one of the adults flew in and perched on top of a tall tree. I'm quite certain that I can see the 2 eaglets perched in separate trees; one behind the adult and one to the left of the adult.

[sassyk]

I visited the nest at our local Hollywood Park last evening. I did not see or hear either adult and the eaglet was perched above what is left of the nest The eaglet was vocalizing several times but no food was brought in. The nest is almost gone completely!

[sassyk]

Hollywood Park Eagles July 22nd cont'd.

I viewed the nest site from various vantage points around the park.

[sassyk]

Hollywood Park Eagles July 22nd cont'd.

I viewed the nest from down the road but had a difficult time locating the eaglet.

[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]

I visited the nest near Mt. Douglas park last evening and saw one of the 2 eaglets wandering around the nest. I heard the 2nd eaglet calling from somewhere nearby so I know that it has fledged. While I was standing on the wooden platform looking out over the ocean I heard the eaglet squawking very loudly and was quite certain an adult had flown in with food. I walked back to the road where I could see the nest and was lucky to capture the adult in the nest just before it flew off.

The eaglet was busy eating for the rest of the time I was there.

[sassyk]

Mt. Douglas eagles July 28th cont'd.

A few more photos of the eaglet in the nest. I wasn't successful in locating the 2nd eaglet.

[sassyk]

One of my birding friends went past the nest at Hollywood Park early Sunday morning, July 30th, and saw the eaglet perched at the top of the nest tree My birding partner saw the eaglet at the top of the nest tree on Aug. 1st; it was calling quite a bit.

[sassyk]

I viewed the nest on the Colwood Golf Course on July 26th and saw one eaglet perched on a branch to the left of the nest. It flapped its wings several times before making it back to the nest. It flapped its wings several more times and landed on the same branch to the left of the nest. I did not see the adults or the 2nd eaglet which has already fledged.

[sassyk]

I visited the nest on Luxton Rd. on July 26th and saw that most of the nest had fallen. My birding partner had told me the adults had tried to make a new nest lower down in the nest tree. The eaglet was very active, flapping its wings amongst the branches to the left of the makeshift nest.

[sassyk]

I have had reports from several observers that the eaglet in the nest at Hollywood Park has been branching; it has been seen perched at the top of the nest tree and Ann Smith observed it eating a few days ago. I will be visiting the nest area on Monday afternoon.

[sassyk]

I have visited the eagles at Hollywood Park several times in the past couple of weeks. Due to the fact that the nest has been falling and there is basically nothing left of it, I was concerned that the eaglet might fall. However, it did not fall and has fledged successfully

Aug. 7th visit: The eaglet was jumping up and down and flapping its wings when I visited the nest with my birding partner in the afternoon.

One of my birding friends who monitors eagle nests reported she heard the eaglet in the nest tree on July 27th but she could not see it. She saw an adult flying around at Clover Point then it flew back to the area of Hollywood Park. On Aug. 3rd in the evening she saw the eaglet up high in the nest tree.