Wild Bald Eagle Activity

Vancouver, BC -- Wild bald eagles in the southern British Columbia and US Pacific Northwest region are busy tending to eggs. Some nests have already had hatchings. With territories to guard, either eggs or eaglets to care for, and all their other usual business, the bald eagles are currently very active.

Here is a video chronicle of this spring season's goings-on at the wild bald eagle nest site in Jericho Park in Vancouver.

Jericho Bald Eagles Mates at New Nest

The eagle mates seem to be alternating selections between the cottonwood trees above the West Point Grey Community Centre and the fir trees across the field, above the Vancouver Parks Board yard. For the past three years the nest has been positioned in the same fir tree. This year the eagles have returned to their former location in the cottonwoods, needing -- of course -- to rebuild a nest entirely.

It looks a little small, observers thought at first that the nest would continue being built to usual size, approximately one metre across, but there are eggs in there now so no more building this year.

Jericho Bald Eagles, Action

A couple of weeks later the eagles are up to their usual work of feeding themselves and each other. For these particular mates the female is a bit of a control freak, insisting on sitting on the eggs for about 23 hours a day, then calling to her mate to take his turn so she can have a nice fly-around.

During nesting times, the adults work hard to feed their eaglets but must also feed themselves and each other. Whoever is sitting on the eggs gets fish brought by the other. Once the eaglets are born the adults don't get to eat all that much, which is why eagles flock after the salmon run; they need to protein load during the winter for the hard-working summer months.

Bald Eagles Defend Territory

Sometimes upon arriving at the nest site there are no eagles, or maybe one is sitting high up in a tree not doing much. Sometimes I stand around for a couple of hours without getting a really useful shot. Other times there is so much going on, with eagles flying around in different directions that I wish I had two cameras!

I arrived at the field but did not see any eagles, although I knew one would be sitting nicely down in the nest keeping the eggs warm. I was deciding whether to set up my tripod and wait or take a walk to the beachfront in case one of the eagles was sitting in one of their favourite trees at the water.

Suddenly a great ruckus kicked up, it turns out a foreign pair of adult bald eagles were flying low over the Jericho eagles' territory. A lot of calling and wing flapping ensued, as the resident eagles worked to discourage the foreign eagles from hanging around.

Jericho Bald Eagles, Evening

Yesterday afternoon I went to check on the Jericho site. After waiting around for over an hour I was lucky enough to witness a switch at the nest. I had the camera well positioned to capture first the female leaving the nest to fly across the field, over the heads of various sportspeople no less, to land beside her mate. They set up some loud calling, which seems to set off a car alarm at 1:23 or maybe I'm crazy feel free to let me know.

After a short while the male flies around to cross back over the field and land in the nest to take his turn keeping the eggs warm.

The season of active bald eagles in this area is just starting, so I will be back often to get more footage. Things get quite exciting when the eaglets grow big enough to start flapping around their little nest home.