Ardmore Drive and Coles Bay Eagles Nests, North Saanich BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

[sassyk]

I visited the nest on Ardmore Dr. near Coles Bay with my birding partner on July 14th.
When we arrived we heard an eaglet vocalizing from the nest; a few minutes later we heard another eaglet vocaliing from somewhere behind the nest tree. An adult flew in to the nest with a big fish and the eaglet immediately squawked and mantled the fish. The adult tried to feed the eaglet but the eaglet didn't want the adult in the nest.

The adult hopped onto a branch beside the nest and watched the eaglet pulling at the fish.

[sassyk]

Ardmore Eagles, July 14th cont'd.

The second eaglet appeared from the woods behind the nest tree and perched in the tree to the right of the nest tree. It continually vocalized but the eaglet in the nest squawked right back and continued to mantle the fish.

[sassyk]

Ardmore Eagles, July 14th cont'd.

The 2nd eaglet flew around the nest tree and perched on the opposite side of the nest.

Eaglet in the nest took a breather from eating the fish.

2nd eaglet waiting for the eaglet in the nest to decide it had eaten enough fish.

[sassyk]

Ardmore Eagles, July 14th cont'd.

Final 2 photos of the eaglet in the nest eating the fish. The 2nd eaglet was still perched beside the nest when we left the area.

The eaglet looking up at its sibling.

Watching the adult flying off towards the bay.

[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 Ardmore Dr. and Yarrow Pt. eagles for the 2023-2024 nesting season.

My birding partner and I visited both nest sites on Oct. 18th. We did not see or hear any eagles in the area of the nest on Ardmore Dr. The nest is intact but needs some work before the eagles lay eggs.

[sassyk]

Yarrow Point eagles Oct. 18th.

We heard an eagle calling and spotted it in one of their perch trees behind the nest tree.

[sassyk]

Yarrow Pt. eagles cont'd.

After approx. 10 minutes of viewing the nest and the perched eagle, we decided to leave. We had just gotten into our vehicle when my birding partner heard both eagles squawking back & forth. I had already put my camera away so by the time I got out and walked to where I could see the first eagle perched, I saw a second eagle fumbling on the branch beside it. It flew off towards the nest tree before I could capture a photo. We searched for it but eventually came to the conclusion that it kept on flying past the nest tree. The fact that makes me think the eagles had just copulated was the first adult perched on the branch was immediately preening it's tail feathers and underneath

[sassyk]

I visited both nests in the Ardmore Dr. area with my birding partner on Mar. 16th. We did not see or hear the eagles in the area of the nest on Ardmore Dr. but spotted them down the road perched in a snag. The nest looks intact but we did not notice any new sticks that have been added.

[sassyk]

One of the adult eagles perched in the snag down the road; I spotted the 2nd one as we were driving to the nest site but could not find it after walking down the road.

It eventually flew off and soared higher and higher on the thermals.

[sassyk]

I visited the 2nd eagle nest at the end of Ardmore Dr. (Yarrow Pt.) with my birding partner on Mar. 16th. We heard an eagle vocalizing as we were getting out of the vehicle and saw it perched in the usual tree behind the end house. It vocalized for a long time before finally flying off towards the beach area where the foot path goes down to the beach.