Week of April 14
It was great to see food in the nest and how high she was sitting compared to earlier visits.
The incubating female is reliant on her mate to provide for her during this critical phase of the breeding season.
So - yeah!! It appears both parents are on the job.
And, her height in the nest suggests there is a hatchling in there!!
The male on his regular pre-foraging morning perch.
He is readily distinguished from her by the extensive graying of the feathers on his crown, neck, and sides of his neck.
Week of May 10
Think of the years invested in this nest, and all the factors that were necessary to support its growth each year. It's amazing.
So, two chicks it is!! The hatchling on the right is roughly a week older than its sibling on the left.
I was concerned the oldest chick was going to take a dive off the nest because it was so full of energy.
Thankfully, it settled back down with its sibling which calmed my nerves considerably.
Week of May 31
Chicks up, alert to calls overhead from both the male and female - it's dinner time!!
The older chick is on the right - it was nice to see the younger chick on the left asserting itself!!
Both parents circling overhead with food - male in a steep dive
It appears parents prepare the prey before delivery - female
Their deliveries to the nest were just minutes apart.
Week of June 21st
And then there was one - all alone and now finally more active. This chick had me worried as it seemed to have much less energy than its older sibling.
This look is one I will always kick myself over because I reacted to it by turning around to see what was so important.
It was inbound high-speed food delivery. And, by the time I figured it out and turned myself back around, the delivery was complete, and the chick was already up, beginning its meal.
Calling back, presumably with a big thank you!!
Then next morning, the male delivered a whole rabbit to the lone nestling.
All prior food deliveries were unidentifiable pieces of prey.
It was interesting to watch the eaglet work its way through the rabbit, starting first with the entrails then finishing off with its brain.
If this nestling doesn't fledge soon, it will be due to an abundance of food, not lack of it.
It's hard to leave home when doting parents regularly provide concierge-level services that satisfy all your needs.
In support of this theory, the older sibling landed just a few meters from my modest hide right after the nestling took delivery of a whole rabbit. Then proceeded to call incessantly for about 15 minutes before flying off, I assume, disappointed by the lack of equal or better food it had become accustomed to!
When Golden Eagles fledge, their nest remains the center of their universe for quite some time. This experience leads me to believe they will likely exhibit an affinity for the nest site for at least a month after fledging. So, while the breeding-to-fledging time during this observation was a mere three months - it is likely the kids are going to need another month or more to figure out how to survive on their own before soaring off to establish their own territories.
A technician sent in a photograph of this eaglet out of the nest on the morning of 29 June 2021!! I am sorry I couldn't be there; I am happy everything worked out so well for this pair of eagles this year.
AFTERWORD
The images above are of a well-known pair of Golden Eagles incubating, brooding, and fledgling young in 2021 in a high-traffic, multi-use area in central Oregon.
This observation began with the hope the adults would play key roles in the visual story. But having now shared the experience, I think you will agree; the chicks easily stole the show.
A 660-foot buffer zone protects Bald Eagle's nests nationally. While no such guideline exists for Golden Eagles, protection measures deployed are much more conservative since their populations are generally declining. Accordingly, the USFWS applies a 2-mile buffer zone to Golden Eagle breeding territories whenever possible. The adult pair of Golden Eagles seen here continue to choose to raise young in a location without the benefit of a buffer zone. However, they are still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 that provides criminal penalties for activities that interfere with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior.
Deschutes County is beginning the process to update three of its Goal 5 wildlife inventories: mule deer winter range, elk winter range, and sensitive bird (bald and golden eagle) habitat. The stated objective of Goal 5 is to protect natural resources and conserve scenic and historic areas and open spaces. The first phase of the project represents the data collection stage only - no changes to County zoning or other regulations have yet been proposed.
The adult eagles pictured here were captured in 2015, banded and fitted with telemetry devices that provided information about their activities on their breeding and non-breeding territories for four years. As it turns out, this pair does not migrate; their breeding territory is roughly twelve and half square miles which doubles in size during the off-season.
They have had on-and-off-again success breeding from 2011 through 2021, successfully raising eight young over the eleven seasons reported to date (two in 2013, one in 2015, one in 2017, two in 2019 and 2021). Unfortunately, the nest failed during incubation last year, as did most of the territories monitored by the BLM in 2020. It is believed it had to do with a lack of prey resources. Anecdotally, more jackrabbits and cottontails were seen this year than have been in the past 4 years throughout Central Oregon. That could explain why most of the territories the BLM monitored this year have been successful.
Images obtained during this observation have been donated to the Prineville District Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon Eagle Foundation to appreciate their cautious support for this project. It is my sincere hope these images move readers to contribute to the efforts to preserve and improve the long-term outlook of these magnificent birds.
Other Species Encountered - in the Order Presented
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER -- CLARK'S NUTCRACKER -- MOURNING DOVE -- LARK'S SPARROW -- NORTHERN FLICKER -- GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET -- PINYON JAY -- BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE -- MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE -- WESTERN MEADOWLARK -- COMMON NIGHTHAWK