Swan Lake Eagles, Saanich BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

[sassyk]

A friend who lives across the street from the nest tree property, told me the female showed up at the nest early in Nov. A couple of weeks later the male joined her and they were actively working at nestorating.

On Jan. 8th he saw an eaglet perched in an oak tree on a nearby street. The adults had been seen perched in their old nest tree and vocalizing.

[sassyk]

Both adults were perched up high in their old nest tree when I drove by on Sunday. Not in my own vehicle so no photos

[sassyk]

I visited the nest site on Apr. 25th with my birding partner and we saw one adult in the nest. It appeared to be incubating The adult got up and appeared to roll eggs but we did not witness any feeding activity.

This photo was taken from the lane down the road from the nest.

[sassyk]

Apr. 25th cont'd.

This was the first photo I took from the road in front of the nest tree. It looks like the adult's tail feathers on the right of the branch on the right side of the nest.

These next 2 photos were taken down the road from the nest tree.
Questionable feeding activity by the adult.

[sassyk]

I visited the nest site on May 16th and was thrilled to catch a feeding in progress My ex-boss, who lives across the road from the nest tree, emailed me to let me know they had seen 2 little heads in the nest the previous day. I believe it was the female in the nest with the eaglets and a short time later she called out and the male arrived. He started feeding the eaglets while the female hopped to a branch beside the nest then flew off. I spotted her perched in the old nest tree, preening and scratching.

[sassyk]

May 16th cont'd.

[sassyk]

May 16th cont'd.

The female on the old nest tree.

[sassyk]

I haven't been able to stop at the Swan Lake nest for awhile but have seen adults perched in the old nest tree while I was driving by on West Saanich Rd. My birding partner has visited the site twice since my last visit and has seen both eaglets in the nest.

I received an update from my contact on July 5th; he saw an eaglet 'bail out of the nest tree' early in the morning and there was no visible sign of the 2nd eaglet being in the nest. Subsequent emails reported one of the eaglets was stuck in a bush in the back yard where the nest tree is located. The resident went out and looked for it but didn't see it. However, he did hear it calling early in the morning. The next door neighbour reported the eaglet had come out of the bush and was standing on a rock wall in the back yard then later it was seen behind the nest tree. The neighbour confirmed the eaglet was moving around and flapping.

My birding partner and I went to the nest site last evening and spoke to the neighbours who said they had seen both eaglets in the back yards of the 2 houses beside the nest tree property. We did not see the eaglets in any of the trees nearby but did see an adult perched in a tree behind one of the back yards. The adult was keeping watch over the eaglets who never made a sound while we were there. All of our contact residents will keep us informed of the activities of the eagles.

The empty nest.

Adult in a nearby tree.

[sassyk]

I visited the nest site on July 9th with my birding partner. One of the adults flew from the trees on the next street over and landed in the big tree next to the nest tree. The crows were harassing her

The crows were harassing the adult.

[sassyk]

July 9th cont'd.

We heard the eaglet calling from the next street over and wandered up and down looking in all the big trees but didn't see it. As we were walking back to the nest site a neighbour spotted the eaglet on top of a chimney.

The owner of the property allowed us to go into her back yard to get a good closeup look at the eagle.

[sassyk]

July 9th cont'd.

The neighbour said the adult had delivered a gull to the eaglet while it was on the chimney.

While I was standing in the neighbours back yard an adult flew to a tree at the back of the property. It was being harassed by the crows and I actually heard one hit the eagle.

[sassyk]

My birding partner and neighbours of the property where the nest tree is located have all been keeping an eye on the eaglet that has been perched on the chimney on the next street over and my birding partner saw it this afternoon, still perched on the chimney. Nobody has seen it anywhere else so I guess it likes it there. We are happy to know that the adults seem to be feeding it

I had news this morning that an eaglet was picked up in an area near the nest site by someone from Wild ARC. They reported the eaglet looked healthy and hoped to return it to the nest site soon. From the information given it is thought to be the missing eaglet from this nest. I will report any further news here

[sassyk]

I visited the Swan Lake nest site last evening and spotted one of the adults perched near the top of the old nest tree.

[sassyk]

I heard the eaglet vocalizing from the nest area and spotted it perched above the nest. The neighbour said the eaglet has been flying around the area from tree to tree and had been seen perched in the old nest tree with both of the adults Unfortunately I have not been able to obtain information from Wild ARC as to the status of the 2nd eaglet

This photo was taken from the lane behind the old nest tree.

[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!