Lochside Eagles, Central Saanich, BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

[JudyB]

2021 Cam Maintenance
Matching Drive

A little over 17 weeks ago, we met Tiku from our Surrey Reserve nest; this is just before he or maybe she made it all the way out of the shell:

And now Tiku and Tucca from Surrey Reserve and Hope and Chase from Delta 2 have all set out to explore the world.

We do still have one young eagle to watch - this is Romeo from our White Rock nest, who hatched 6 weeks later than Tiku:

At 11 weeks, he (or maybe she) is practicing perching on the nest supports and exercising those big wings. Eaglets generally fledge (take their first flight) between 10 and 14 weeks, and it's my guess that will happen in the next week or so.

And you know - I haven't really thought about this before - but our little window to access the nests and clean the cams and do any other necessary work isn't always that much longer than the 35-40 days it takes an egg to hatch. Last year the Surrey Reserve adults didn't leave until August 14 (though they weren't visiting very often after Thor left in mid-July) - and Dad Sur was back on September 26. Different pairs have different schedules - and it can vary from year to year - so it would be great if we could get ready now.

With that in mind....

We will be posting more details about our Adopt-a-Nest program, the new option to adopt one of our eagles with a tracker (details soon), the Monthly Donor program - and the work we need to do on the 10 cameras we now have at five different nests.

The important thing to know is that at least 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!

Details about How to Donate

If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]

Thank You!

[sassyk]

Sadly the eagles did not produce any young this season We wish them safe travels during their migration to the salmon spawning grounds in Alaska and look forward to their return to their nesting area in the fall, looking healthy and well fed

[sassyk]

I have locked this thread but will re-open it when the eagles are seen back in their nest territory

[sassyk]

This is the opening post for the 2021-2022 nesting season.

You are welcome to post observations and photos of the eagles if you see them in their nest territory.

I visited the nest site on Oct. 13th but did not see or hear any eagles in the area. The nest looks to be in fantastic condition, ready for the eagles when they return Photos of the nest from different vantage points.

[sassyk]

I visited the nest site with my birding partner on Apr. 28th. We did not see or hear any eagles in the area and the nest looks like there hasn't been any new sticks added

[sassyk]

This is the opening post for the Lochside Dr. eagles for the 2022-2023 nesting season.

I visited the Lochside Dr. eagles nest site with my birding partner on April 12th. We were pleased to see an adult perched in the adjacent tree to the nest tree, looking down into the nest. The nest has been built up considerably since they last used it so we were unable to see the other adult lying down in the nest until it decided to change positions.

[sassyk]

Apr. 12th cont'd.

[sassyk]

Apr. 12th cont'd.

My birding partner caught a glimpse of some white feathers in the nest. I was pleased I
captured part of a beak in a few of my photos

A photo of the nest tree.

[sassyk]

My birding partner visited the nest site on Tuesday of last week and saw an eaglet in the nest and an adult perched nearby.

I visited the nest site on May 26th and saw one eaglet up and wandering around in the nest. One adult, looked like the male, was perched at the top of the nearby perch tree. It squawked when it saw me walking across the road to take some pictures.

[sassyk]

May 26th cont'd.

The male in the nearby perch tree.

A distant photo of the nest tree and the male in the nearby perch tree.

[sassyk]

I visited the Lochside Dr. nest with my birding partner on July 4th. We waited and watched and finally the eaglet lifted its head up in the nest. It did not get up but it was a very hot day so it was resting in the shade. We did not see or hear any adults in the area.

[sassyk]

I visited the Lochside Dr. nest site with my birding partner on July 14th. We did not see or hear any adults in the area, and we did not see the eaglet in the nest. There were a lot of shadows on the nest tree and the surrounding perch trees and we were assuming the eaglet was perched in one of those trees

[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 Lochside Dr. Eagles thread for the 2023/2024 nesting season.

I visited the nest site with my birding partner on Oct. 12th. We did not see or hear any eagles in the area. The nest is intact but we did not see any new sticks added.