Swan Lake Eagles, Saanich BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

[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 area last evening, July 28th. One of the adults was perched in the old nest tree and the eaglet was perched in a big tree on the corner property of the lane.

I heard the eaglet vocalizing but could not find it amongst the branches of the tree. I saw a lot of movement while I was below the tree but still couldn't see it. I was getting ready to leave when I saw the neighbour come out with her binoculars and she told me the eaglet had flown to the nest tree where it was busy eating.

[sassyk]

Eaglet eating July 28th cont'd.

[sassyk]

Eagles July 28th cont'd.

The eaglet hopped up to the branch above the nest when it had finished eating.

On my way home I drove around to the road where the old nest is and caught a glimpse of the adult.

[sassyk]

I have had an update from the neighbour who lives across the road from the nest tree. She had sent an email to Wild ARC to tell them about the drama that went on at the nest area on July 26th and they replied to her on the July 30th. They said their records show that they admitted an eaglet from the area, however they have not released it back. This would be the second eaglet that was found near Swan Lake, not the first eaglet that was found near Carey Rd. Unfortunately Wild ARC seem reluctant to release any information regarding the status of any eaglet in their care.

[sassyk]

I have received an update from my contact person, who lives across the road from the nest property. He said it looks like the eagles are gone for the season Unfortunately, I don't believe the 2nd eaglet has been released from Wild ARC; keeping my fingers crossed that it will be and will know to travel north to the salmon streams. I wish the eagles well on their journey and look forward to seeing them back in their territory in approx. 2 months

[sassyk]

This is the opening post for the Swan Lake eagles thread for the 2023/2024 nesting season.

I visited the nest area yesterday afternoon and saw one of the eagles perched in their old nest tree. I chatted with one of the neighbours who confirmed both eagles have been back in their territory for a couple of weeks.

This photo was taken from the road where the nest tree is on; it looks like the female.

I saw the eagle from the lane, looking out towards Swan Lake. I managed to get this photo of it looking in the direction of the nest tree.

It pooped, then lifted its wings and flew off, right over my head. It circled around the area towards the nest tree then out of sight. I wandered down the road to look for it but did not see it.

[sassyk]

Nov. 1st cont'd.

I took photos of the nest & nest tree from a few different vantage points. I did not see any new sticks in the nest.

[sassyk]

My birding friend visited Swan Lake recently and saw 2 eagles perched high atop a tree near the Nature House. They were still perched there when my friend left 2 hours later. The female was vocalizing quite a lot just before my friend left.

[sassyk]

I visited the nest area on April 1st. When I got out of my vehicle I heard an adult in the nest vocalizing very loudly. I looked up and saw 2 adults flying around the area. I assumed one was the 2nd adult from this nest and the other one an intruder. After chatting with one of the neighbours I walked up and down the road and the alley and captured 2 photos of the eagle in the nest.

These 2 photos were taken from the road near the nest tree. Partial view
of the white head and the very yellow beak.

Black wing feathers can be seen in the middle of this photo.

After I returned to the nest tree area, I caught a glimpse of an eagle perched on the side of the nest through the trees. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to focus in time to capture it in a photo before it flew out and circled around the area before disappearing in the distance.