Oak Bay Eagles, Oak Bay BC - 2019-2024 Seasons

[sassyk]

Lansdowne-Beach Dr. Eagles June 9th cont'd.

The eaglet continued to preen.

The fledged eaglet flew in and perched on a branch to the right of the nest.

Taking to to preen its feathers.

[sassyk]

My birding partner and I visited the Hollywood Park nest on July 9th.

The banded adult was perched in a tree close to the nest tree.

The eaglet is on the left of the big branch; this photo was taken from the field
in the park.

The nest has been falling down bit by bit over the past few weeks. This photo
was taken from across the road from the park. The eaglet is visible between the
y-branch on the right and the branch below it.

[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]

I visited some of the nests in Oak Bay with my birding partner on Aug. 7th. There were no adults or eaglets in the area of the Lansdowne-Beach Dr. nest tree. My birding friend Marie had previously reported both eaglets had fledged successfully While wandering around nearby Cattle Point my birding partner spotted both adults from the Lansdowne-Beach Dr. nest perched in a big tree behind one of the big properties on Beach Drive. Unfortunately we were not successful in spotting either of the eaglets amongst all the greenery. One adult is visible in this photo, on the big branch sticking out on the right side.

[sassyk]

This is the opening post for the Oak Bay Eagles thread for the 2023/2024 nesting season.

I plan to visit the nests in Oak Bay with my birding partner next week. However, another of my birding friends told me yesterday that the eagles from the Lansdowne/Beach Dr. nest and the Sylvan Lane nest have all returned Very good news indeed

[sassyk]

I did a tour of the nests in Oak Bay with my birding partner on Oct. 23rd.

There were no eagles seen or heard in the area of the Lansdowne/Beach Dr. nest. However, I have had reports from 2 others who monitor this nest that the eagles have returned to their territory. One was seen sitting in the nest recently

[sassyk]

Lansdowne/Beach Dr. Oct. 23rd cont'd.

I took photos from various vantage points but don't see many new sticks.

This photo was taken from Cattle Point, a short distance down the road from the nest tree.

[sassyk]

Willows Beach nest Oct. 23rd.

We saw both adult eagles soaring above the beach but neither one came down to the nest tree.

[sassyk]

Willows Beach eagles Oct. 23rd cont'd.

This is their old nest tree on York Place that fell down in 2021. This photo
was taken from Prospect Place, which is one street over towards the water.

[sassyk]

Victoria Golf Course eagle nest, Oct. 23rd.

My birding partner and I saw both adult eagles soaring over the area but neither one
came down to the nest. Another friend who monitors this nest reported seeing both
eagles last week. We did notice a few new sticks in the nest

[sassyk]

Sylvan Lane eagles Oct. 23rd.

My birdng partner and I did not see or hear any eagles in the area; however another friend who monitors this nest has reported seeing both eagles in the area as well as on the marker on Trial Island where they often perch.

This is a difficult nest to see, especially for a short person like me

The other side of the nest.

Last season the eagles did not produce any young in this nest. However, they did start building a new nest on the next street over. We think they moved due to the fact that there was a lot of construction going on in the area.
This is the tree they built their new nest in; they have been very busy building this nest.

[sassyk]

Sylvan Lane eagles Oct. 23rd cont'd.

Photos of the new nest on private property on Denison Road.

[sassyk]

Anderson Hill/Island Rd. eagle nests, Oct. 23rd

A pair of eagles nested in a tree on private property on Island Road many years ago. After David Hancock installed a cam in the tree the eagles moved and built another nest just a short distance away on a private road in the area. Unfortunately neither one of those nests has been used by the eagles for many years.

I did a check of those 2 nests on Oct. 23rd with my birding partner. The 2nd nest on the private road has fallen.
These photos were taken from the dead-end street behind the private road.

[sassyk]

Anderson Hill/Island Rd. eagle nests Oct. 23rd cont'd.

These photos are of the original nest tree that David Hancock installed the cam on.
This first photo was taken from the dead-end street behind the private road.

These 2 photos were taken from Island Rd. There is a very nice new house on the nest tree property.