Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

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Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

Post by sassyk » Fri Sep 27, 2019 12:32 pm

Welcome to Ma & Pa Sidney's nest thread for the 2019-2024 nesting seasons.

Ma and Pa Sidney were a beloved Hancock Wildlife bald eagle pair since 2006. They successfully raised many eaglets together for 11 years. They built and occupied 4 nests in that time and 6 of those years we were privileged to see them on live streaming cams. Their current nest is in the Pat Bay area in North Saanich, BC.

Ma and Pa Sidney did not raise any young in 2017. There were territorial battles throughout the 2017 season and we were saddened when we realised our Ma Sidney did not return from the fall migration.

Pa Sidney had at least one new mate during the 2017/2018 season and successfully raised and fledged one eaglet from the snag nest on the Epicure property. The eaglet was named Genesis by 'elle', a beloved member of the local 'ground crew' who sadly passed away this past July. Genesis was a late hatch presumably from a second clutch. Pa Sidney and his new mate successfully raised 2 eaglets in this nest this past season.

Visitors to the Pat Bay area are welcome to share their observations, photos and videos of Pa Sidney and his new mate.

Observations, photos and videos from this past season can be viewed here

Links to previous season can be found here.

Link to the opening post for the 2021-2022 nesting season here

Link to the opening post for the 2022-2023 nesting season here

Link to the opening post for the 2023-2024 nesting season here
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Thu Oct 10, 2019 1:00 pm

I did a tour of the nests on the Saanich Peninsula yesterday. I was very happy to see Pa perched in a tree on the First Nations land across from the beach. He was looking very healthy.
IMG_5144 - Copy.JPG
IMG_5147 - Copy.JPG

The snag nest is still intact.
IMG_5152 - Copy.JPG
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Thu Oct 10, 2019 1:03 pm

On the way back from visiting a couple of other nests on the peninsula, I saw Pa perched in one of the trees on the farmer's property, across from the Epicure property. These photos were taken from Towner Park Rd. He was preening and looking around the area, perhaps looking for his new missus :luck:

IMG_5180 - Copy.JPG
IMG_5183 - Copy.JPG
IMG_5185 - Copy.JPG
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Fri Nov 01, 2019 6:07 pm

We drove around the Pat Bay area yesterday after taking family members to the airport but did not see or hear any eagles in the area.
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:16 pm

I decided to get out of the house for awhile yesterday to visit some of the nests on the Saanich Peninsula. I was very pleased to see Pa in the snag nest, looking like he was tending to chicks. I did not see any feeding activity but due to the Covid-19 pandemic I didn't stay long at any of the nests. I basically wanted to make sure all the nests were still intact. Hopefully the next time I visit I will be able to stay a bit longer and catch a feeding. On the way south around Pat Bay I saw an adult eagle flying over the bay and another one perched in a tree along the beach path. There was nowhere to pull over to get a photo but I had a good look at it and thought to myself it could have been Pa's new missus. Here are a few photos of Pa.

Epicure Pat Bay(1) 27 Apr.JPG
Epicure Pat Bay(2) 27 Apr.JPG

Pa was bending down tending to a chick or chicks :thumlft:
Epicure Pat Bay(3) 27 Apr.JPG
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by deb_simpsonca » Sat Jun 20, 2020 9:22 am

Hello
My Dad, John Simpson (EagleDude on this forum), was a huge follower of the Sidney eagles. He passed away a year ago. He participated a lot in some forums about the eagles, I'm not sure if I have found the right one. He named one of the eaglets one year - Sydney, I believe was the name and he proudly wore the t-shirt with the eagle's picture on it.

In his honour, we'd like to perhaps have another eagle named after him. Wondering if you know how we can do this?

Thanks kindly,
Deb Simpson
[email protected]

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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by JudyB » Sat Jun 20, 2020 11:29 am

deb_simpsonca wrote:
Sat Jun 20, 2020 9:22 am
Hello
My Dad, John Simpson (EagleDude on this forum), was a huge follower of the Sidney eagles. He passed away a year ago. He participated a lot in some forums about the eagles, I'm not sure if I have found the right one. He named one of the eaglets one year - Sydney, I believe was the name and he proudly wore the t-shirt with the eagle's picture on it.

In his honour, we'd like to perhaps have another eagle named after him. Wondering if you know how we can do this?

Thanks kindly,
Deb Simpson
[email protected]
Hi Deb, and welcome to the forum! I'm so sorry to hear about John - I enjoyed his posts over the years. :grhug:

I like the idea of naming an eaglet after him, but am not sure how that would happen. This year's eaglets at our nests with cameras all have names, and I have the impression that the observers at nests like Sidney may have informal names for the eaglets that they use when posting pictures here, but I'm not in BC so don't know as much about that process. Hopefully others will chime in before long - and thanks for stopping by!

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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Sun Jun 21, 2020 1:34 pm

Hi Deb, I'm so sorry to hear this sad news :( I was very fond of your Dad and I think you attended one of our FledgeFests with him one year. He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humour. If I remember correctly, I believe your Dad had the privilege of naming the lone eaglet in that nest Skye. Please accept my sincere condolences to you and your family.

I will be visiting the nest site soon and if there are eaglets in the nest I will gladly name one in his honour.
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Tue Jun 30, 2020 4:54 pm

I visited Pa’s nest area this past Sunday. One of the adult eagles was perched in a big tree behind the nest in the snag. An eaglet was perched on the small branch at the side of the nest and after I had been there for about 20 minutes a second eaglet got up in the nest and was jumping up and down while flapping its wings across the nest from one side to the other. Both eaglets look healthy. I took some photos as well as a few videos but won’t be able to post them until I get a new computer, hopefully by this weekend.

Deb Simpson, if you see this post, please let me know if you have any name suggestions for the eaglets, in memory of your Dad. I seem to be the only local posting observations and haven’t given them names.
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Sun Jul 12, 2020 10:18 pm

Some photos of Ma & Pa Sidney's eaglets, taken on June 28th.

I believe it was Ma perched in the tree on the left of the nest tree.
Pat Bay Epicure Eagles 28 June.JPG
Pat Bay Epicure Eagle 28 June.JPG

Eaglet on the right had just made an appearance.
Pat Bay Epicure Eaglets(1) 28 June.JPG
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Sun Jul 12, 2020 10:20 pm

The eaglet on the right was very active jumping up and wingercizing.
Pat Bay Epicure Eaglets(2) 28 June.JPG
Pat Bay Epicure Eaglets(3) 28 June.JPG
Pat Bay Epicure Eaglets(4) 28 June.JPG
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by gemini » Fri Jul 31, 2020 2:52 pm

2020 Cam Maintenance
Matching Drive

It's hard to believe that the fluffy little eaglets we first met in April are already flying around - and at least one of them is already half-way up the coast of British Columbia, feasting on salmon at one of the rivers with early salmon runs. The rest will be heading out soon, which will give us a brief window to clean the cameras, check the wiring and do any additional projects near the nests. Only one of our nests is currently sponsored (big thanks to Russ Cmolik for donating a new close-up cam for White Rock!) so we are asking those who enjoy the cams to help us get them ready for next year. We know life this year is different for many of us - but if you can help, we would really appreciate it.
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We have some big plans - two new cams for White Rock, replacement domes at Surrey Reserve and Delta 2, and hopefully getting to the bottom of the connectivity issue that keeps taking the South cam at Harrison Mills offline - and there will be some large expenses if we're going to do it all. We'll need a lift to get people up to the cams at White Rock and possibly at Delta, and the tree at Harrison Mills is very tall, requiring a professional climbing team if we are to do any work on the cams themselves.

If we can raise $10,000, we should be able to do the most essential work at most of the nests. And happily some friends of the eagles have pledged to match the first $1250 raised in the next three days - so if you adopt Delta 2, Harrison Mills, Surrey Reserve or White Rock for next year for $250, Hancock Wildlife will get $500!

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 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"
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And if this isn't a good time for adopting a nest, you can also make a donation of any amount to the "Eagle Cams/General Repairs" fund or you can make a monthly donation by changing the highlighted box at the top of the page from "Donate Now" to "Donate Monthly" (the first month's donation is eligible to be matched). Many of the funds have a suggested amount - but that is just a suggestion. The amount you put in the Amount box is what you'll donate.

You don't need to be in Canada to use CanadaHelps - and the rate of exchange right now is favorable to those of us in the United States - a donation of $250 Canadian dollars is currently less than $200 US dollars, so if you give $250 through CanadaHelps (or PayPal), HWF gets $250 Canadian dollars, and the cost to you is based on the current rate of exchange.

You can also use the other methods on the Donations page, but it's not as easy to provide all the information, so if you're sending a check or planning to give a donation directly to someone at HWF, please let me ([email protected]) or gemini ([email protected]) know a donation is coming so it gets included in the matching drive.

And if you have any questions about any of this, please do contact me or gemini and we'll be happy to help.
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Thank You!
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020 Season

Post by sassyk » Wed Aug 05, 2020 4:37 pm

This has indeed been a very strange season for eagle watching. I have not been able to get out to the nests I monitor on a regular basis and have sadly missed a lot of the action at the nests. I made one last trip on Aug. 3rd to see if the eagles were still in the area and did not see any of them anywhere around the nest area or Pat Bay. I wish them luck with their travels to the salmon spawning grounds and hope to see them back in their territory within the next 2 months.
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020/2021 Seasons

Post by sassyk » Sun Oct 25, 2020 10:39 pm

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I have not been able to get out to check the activities of the eagles. Therefore this thread will be continuing to include observations, photos & videos of the eagles for the 2020/2021 nesting season. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the eagles will produce offspring this season :luck:

I visited Pat Bay and the nest site on Oct. 20th and was thrilled to see Ma perched on one of the tall trees behind the snag nest. On my way back to the south end of Pat Bay I spotted Pa perched in a tree on the First Nations reserve. Both eagles look healthy :rh:

I believe the first 2 photos are of Ma.
Pat Bay Epicure Eagle & Nest 20 Oct..JPG
Pat Bay Epicure Eagle(1) 20 Oct..JPG

This is Pa in the tree on the reserve property.
Pat Bay Epicure Eagle(2) 20 Oct..JPG
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Re: Pa Sidney Eagle Nest, Pat Bay, North Saanich BC - 2019/2020/2021 Seasons

Post by sassyk » Tue Nov 03, 2020 4:09 pm

I visited the nest area yesterday with my birding partner but we did not see or hear the eagles.
IMG_0639 - Copy.JPG

However we did see a juvenile perched up the road on a tree overlooking Wain Rd. There is no way of knowing for sure but this might be one of the 2 eaglets from Pa's nest earlier this year.
IMG_0648 - Copy.JPG
IMG_0649 - Copy.JPG
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