Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021-2022

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heatherj
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Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021-2022

Post by heatherj » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:37 pm

Welcome to the Reception Point nest thread. If you visit the nest you are welcome to post comments and/or pictures here.

The nest is located just west of Reception Point in Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast BC, just north of Vancouver. The nest tree is on private property but the nest is visible from the beach. This nest is new to the forum in 2021 but Bald eagles have been seen in the area for some time so it is possible the nest has been used for some time.

The beach is accessed from Redrooffs Rd at Fullerton and Frances Rd with a Beach Access sign on Redrooffs. The first part of the path is past someones house before the start of the actual District maintained path. There are quite a lot of interesting sculptures, driftwood and other collectibles at the front of this house on the way down so you'll know you're in the right spot. The first section takes about 1-2 mins on a dirt track through forest, then you get to the Fullerton Rd Beach Access sign at the top of a very long flight of steps. The steps are steep but well maintained. There are some dirt paths between sets of steps that are quite rough in places. Its about 10-15 mins to the bottom where there is a short scramble over rocks to get to the pebble beach. . From there you can just about see the nest tree to the left but its much more obvious if you walk left along the beach about 10-15 mins. I have only visited at low tide and had plenty of beach to walk along but judging by the tideline it might not be possible to walk along at high tide so time your visit accordingly.

2021/22 starts here :luck:

Approx Nest Location
Reception Point.png
Ma and Pa perched near the nest tree
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3243.jpg
Ma and Pa enjoying the thermals
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3266.jpg
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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heatherj
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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by heatherj » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:39 pm

Beach Access
Fullerton Rd Beach access.png

Nest tree from part way along the beach from the path
HWF_FullertonRd_20210111_113824.jpg

Closer view of nest
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3341.jpg
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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heatherj
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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by heatherj » Thu Apr 08, 2021 9:40 pm

I visited the nest on Mar 13 and saw that there was some fresh greenery on top of the nest so Ma and Pa seem to be getting prepared for the nesting season! I love how the fir cones look like decorations! :)

I saw one adult, I think Pa, perched near the nest tree. A few minutes later Ma flew in and started preening right next to him. After about 30 mins they took off and started circling out over the water together making some pretty impressive moves. Then they returned and both landed on a tree behind the nest mostly out of sight from the beach. Very soon there was a lot of noise and through the trees I could just make out a lot of wing flapping that looked and sounded as though they were mating.
:eag: :rh: :eag:

Synchronized soaring
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3261.jpg
First adult
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3260.jpg
Second adult
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3273.jpg
Fir cone decoration of nest!
HWF_ReceptionPoint_20210313_3246.jpg
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by stim » Fri Apr 09, 2021 1:23 pm

You've marked the nest location very well Heather. It sounds like a day's outing from here to nest and back again. :D
Hoping for success for this eagle couple.

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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by heatherj » Sun Apr 11, 2021 8:11 pm

Thanks Sandra! :luck:

Yes its certainly a bit of a trek to get there but it is a very beautiful beach so there's definitely a reward for the effort :)
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by marg » Mon May 03, 2021 2:13 pm

Thanks Heather for setting up the thread for this new nest.
Good information and pictures here.
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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by heatherj » Fri Jun 04, 2021 1:25 pm

Thanks Marg! :)

I visited the nest last Saturday (May 29) and all looked very quiet at the nest. Its quite a walk along the beach so I was there for a while and didn't see or hear any activity at the nest the whole time. A juvenile flew along the beach and past quite close to the nest but no adults came out to chase the juvie away, just a couple of crows! Just after that an adult flew in and landed at a tree on the Point which was not too far from the nest and s/he started preening.

So I'm not sure if there are eaglets and that they are so well fed that were asleep the whole time I was there. It was late morning so if they had had a good breakfast I'm sure they would have been able to sleep for several hours. Or if there are no eaglets at this nest this year. I plan to visit again in a few weeks when if there are any eaglets they will be bigger and I expect quite noisy! :luck:
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by JudyB » Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:48 pm

2021 Cam Maintenance
Matching Drive

A little over 17 weeks ago, we met Tiku from our Surrey Reserve nest; this is just before he or maybe she made it all the way out of the shell:
Image

And now Tiku and Tucca from Surrey Reserve and Hope and Chase from Delta 2 have all set out to explore the world.

We do still have one young eagle to watch - this is Romeo from our White Rock nest, who hatched 6 weeks later than Tiku:
Image

At 11 weeks, he (or maybe she) is practicing perching on the nest supports and exercising those big wings. Eaglets generally fledge (take their first flight) between 10 and 14 weeks, and it's my guess that will happen in the next week or so.

And you know - I haven't really thought about this before - but our little window to access the nests and clean the cams and do any other necessary work isn't always that much longer than the 35-40 days it takes an egg to hatch. Last year the Surrey Reserve adults didn't leave until August 14 (though they weren't visiting very often after Thor left in mid-July) - and Dad Sur was back on September 26. Different pairs have different schedules - and it can vary from year to year - so it would be great if we could get ready now.

With that in mind....
Image

We will be posting more details about our Adopt-a-Nest program, the new option to adopt one of our eagles with a tracker (details soon), the Monthly Donor program - and the work we need to do on the 10 cameras we now have at five different nests.

The important thing to know is that at least 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!

Image


Details about How to Donate

If you have questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]

Thank You!

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heatherj
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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021

Post by heatherj » Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:50 pm

2021/2022 season begins here

:luck: :luck: :luck:
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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heatherj
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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021-2022

Post by heatherj » Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:37 pm

I visited the beach last weekend but I mistimed it so the tide was quite high and I couldn't get far along the beach :( But the nest looked to be in good shape, perhaps with some new sticks??? And an adult was visible further along the beach right at Reception Point in the same tree that I had seen one in last year.

So there are definitely eagles still in the area! Fingers crossed for the new season! :luck:
What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Jane Goodall

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Re: Reception Point Bald Eagles, Halfmoon Bay Sunshine Coast BC, 2021-2022

Post by stim » Mon Feb 21, 2022 4:28 pm

Great news Heather! It would have been interesting to see that nest after the Oct/Nov wind events right off the Strait! :ohmy:

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