ThereB次元官网网址檚 some excitement in the bald eagle-watching community, with the arrival of the first eggs of the season in a White Rock nest.
Located on a private portion of the White Rock bluff overlooking Boundary Bay, only about 100 feet from the back porch of a private home, the nest is captured on three cameras and featured on a 24/7 livestream.
The first egg was laid on March 17; the second followed three days later, on March 20.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e at the busiest time of the year with eagles B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e all in the middle of laying eggs, or just finished, or just about to start,B次元官网网址� said local biologist David Hancock, founder of the , whose website features several live eagle nest cameras.
Eagles usually lay one to three eggs, which take around 37 days to hatch, Hancock said.
While the White Rock nest is the first to feature eggs, there are at least two other eagle pairs that followers are watching closely, as both appear to be preparing their nests for breeding B次元官网网址� one in South Surrey near 0 Avenue and 172 Street, and one in Delta, not far from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.
Both nests were built by the foundation, a non-profit society aiming to promote the conservation and appreciation of wildlife and their habitats through science, education, and stewardship.
B次元官网网址淲e build nests because trees just arenB次元官网网址檛 big enough with the right branch structure to supportB次元官网网址� they like our job better than their own. We can build them better,B次元官网网址� Hancock said, noting that tall trees that are large enough and strong enough to support bald eagle nests are usually the first to be cut down when development happens.
The Delta eagles are both mature adults; the Surrey Reserve nest B次元官网网址� located on a half-acre bald eagle preserve made possible by Hancock, developers Dawson & Sawyer, the City of Surrey, and the province B次元官网网址� is now home to a new pair of younger eagles, only five or six years old.
There had been another pair using the nest, but the male disappeared late last year and the female B次元官网网址済ot beaten up, we think by the other new female.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his will be their first year breeding B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檙e hopeful that theyB次元官网网址檙e just a bit later than the White Rock pairB次元官网网址� the fact theyB次元官网网址檙e both young birds B次元官网网址� we werenB次元官网网址檛 overly optimistic theyB次元官网网址檇 get it all together this year, but they seem to be trying and thatB次元官网网址檚 the best you can hope for B次元官网网址� so whether theyB次元官网网址檙e successful or not is the thing,B次元官网网址� Hancock said.
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B次元官网网址淲e coax them on with good spirits but they have to get together with themselves and figure out how to properly create a home B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檝e got the foundation there for them, but they have to do all the intricate work of building the nest up and they have to do their mating correctly, which is a learning function, and then they have to figure out can they co-ordinate catching food for babies and all that kind of thing B次元官网网址� it does take practice.B次元官网网址�
While he and others are hoping theyB次元官网网址檒l pull it off, Hancock noted that B次元官网网址渦sually what happens, is one mature bird is lost and the other mature bird gets a new partner B次元官网网址� often a younger one B次元官网网址� that comes into the breeding cycle.B次元官网网址�
Even with both parents keeping an eagle eye on the nest, it literally takes a raven B次元官网网址渁bout three secondsB次元官网网址� to steal an egg.
B次元官网网址淚t happens. They land on the nest, they grab the egg and theyB次元官网网址檙e gone,B次元官网网址� he said, noting that when parents exchange incubating duties is often when ravens will strike.
B次元官网网址淎t the exchange some birds havenB次元官网网址檛 learned B次元官网网址� initially B次元官网网址� if you move off and he moves on, if thereB次元官网网址檚 dilly dallying around one covering up after the other leaves, boy, weB次元官网网址檝e seen it on the cameras. The raven is there and BAM! HeB次元官网网址檚 got the egg and itB次元官网网址檚 gone.B次元官网网址�
Watching the eagles can be funny as well, with some behaviours strikingly similar to humans.
B次元官网网址淭he female absolutely, absolutely controls the nest,B次元官网网址� Hancock said.
B次元官网网址淵ou can see a male B次元官网网址� he brings in a stick, places it, looks at it, then takes it and places it again B次元官网网址� heB次元官网网址檒l spend 25 minutes placing the stick. Then the female comes and lands and she walks over, immediately picks up that stick and puts it somewhere else.B次元官网网址�
There are 680 occupied eagle nests from Horseshoe Bay/Point Roberts to Hope, Hancock said, noting his foundation just signed a contract to record the City of ChilliwackB次元官网网址檚 eagle nests, to be a resource that the city, developers and builders can check before building, as every bald eagle nest is protected by law.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 a huge change from the 1950s, when there were only three eagle nests in the entire Fraser Valley.
Back then, no predators were protected at all, Hancock remembered. Americans would head up to Alaska for summer fishing and would B次元官网网址渢ake a bucket full of eaglesB次元官网网址� legs and pay all their gas there and backB次元官网网址� gas was only 23 cent a gallon back then,B次元官网网址� as they could get $2 bounty for eagle legs, so they could kill as many as they liked.
Eagles werenB次元官网网址檛 the only predators targeted.
He recalled being in a federal research vessel off Tofino in 1963, as he was going to be dropped off on a little island for a month to study sea birds.
B次元官网网址淪omebody yells B次元官网网址極h! Orcas! Orcas! and a guy goes running past me as IB次元官网网址檓 talking to the captain, then he comes up from the hold carrying a machine gun, mounts it on the front of the boat and (making a machine gun noise) with the machine gun, (shoots right) into the pod of orcas. That was killer whale management in 1963,B次元官网网址� he said.
Rachel CarsonB次元官网网址檚 book, Silent Spring, published in 1962, really helped to start changing the publicB次元官网网址檚 view and perspective about predators, Hancock said.
About to turn 85 on April 1, Hancock has been passionate about saving wildlife since he was 14, when got his first eagle from the fish and game branch, as there were no wildlife rehabilitation facilities back then.
B次元官网网址淚 became the first formal (wildlife) rehabber on Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檝e had hundreds, even thousands, of birds and animals B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 how I got started,B次元官网网址� he explained. B次元官网网址淚 was the kind of the person who would take the things when they were turned in, so I became a rehabber, then a biologist.B次元官网网址�
He also made wildlife films for years and started a publishing company for specialized books about conservation.
If someone knows of an eagleB次元官网网址檚 nest, Hancock actively encourages them to contact him through his foundation or through its many volunteers, so they can add it to their database of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been doing this for a long time. IB次元官网网址檓 still as enthusiastic about trying to save things now as I was then,B次元官网网址� Hancock said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 more important today than it was then B次元官网网址� we destroy things at such a rate, so itB次元官网网址檚 still important.B次元官网网址�
tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
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