Current Channel Islands Bald Eagle Nest Status

From Journey North Bald Eagle FAQ's

Want to know more about the chick and parents? Check the Eagle FAQ's. If you don't see an answer to your question, please feel free to e-mail them to creznicek@vcoe.org

Also, please join our discussion board to post your questions, comments and experiences.

FAQs- Bald Eagles on Santa Cruz Island

Updated March 8, 2010

Questions about the EagleCAM and Bald Eagle Restoration Effort

Q) What is the Channel Islands Live Bald Eagle webcam?
A) The EagleCAM is a live web camera that is focused on a bald eagle nest located near Pelican Harbor on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park, California. This camera is being funded by the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program (MSRP), in partnership with the Institute for Wildlife Studies (IWS), Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE), National Park Service (NPS), San Francisco Zoo (SF Zoo), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

The project partners wish to thank the dedicated EagleCAM viewers (A-49 Cruzers) whom spend countless hours watching the nest and sharing their informative observations on the EagleCAM discussion forum.

Q) Why are you restoring bald eagles?
A) Bald eagles disappeared from the Channel Islands in the 1960s, mainly as a result of human pressures and the release of millions of pounds of DDTs and PCBs into the ocean off of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Although releases ended in the 1970s, the chemicals continue to contaminate the local marine food web, and can cause the eagles to lay thin-shelled eggs that dry out or break during incubation.

In 1980, an effort to restore bald eagles back to the Channel Islands began on Catalina Island. Starting in 2002, this effort was expanded to the northern Channel Islands and a total of 61 bald eagles were released onto Santa Cruz Island between 2002 and 2006. As a top predator, bald eagles are an important component of the Channel Islands ecosystem.

Questions about the Pelican Harbor Nest

Q) How big is the nest?
A) Nest structure circumference = 4.25 meters; diameter at widest point = 1.9 meters; diameter at narrowest point = 1.3 meters; nest material depth max/min = 0.7 / 0.4 meters.

Q) What is the nest made of?
A) The nest structure is constructed of mostly pine and manzanita sticks, with a nest cup area primarily of grass and mineral soil. Prey remains found in the nest include seabird feathers and an assortment of fish scales.

Q) How high up from the ground is the nest? The nest is approximately 10 meters off the ground in the top of a Bishop pine tree.

Questions about the Pelican Harbor Adult Pair (K-10 and K-26)

Q) Where are these birds from?
A) K-10 is a male that was fostered into the Twin Rocks nest on Catalina Island in 2001. He was seen on the mainland from 2001-2004 and on Santa Cruz Island in 2005. K-26 is a female that was fostered into the West End nest on Catalina Island in 2002. She was observed on the mainland in 2002 and was later seen on Santa Cruz Island in February 2005.

Q) How old are they?
A) K-10 is 9 years old and K-26 is 8 years old.

Q) When did they start using this nest?
A) The pair started using this nest in 2006 and successfully hatched the first chick (A-49) in over 50 years on the Channel Islands. This year marks the 5th year that this pair has used this nest.

Questions about the 2010 Pelican Harbor Nest

Q) How many eggs have been laid?
A) Two eggs have been laid. The first egg was laid on February 25 and the second egg was laid on February 28, 2010. In 2009, K-26 also laid her eggs on the exact same dates.

Q) When will the eggs hatch?
A) Incubation is typically 35 days long. These eggs should hatch around April 3 and April 7, 2010.

Q) Do both parents incubate the eggs?
A) Yes. Both parents will take turns incubating the eggs. The female usually incubates more as the hatching date approaches.

Questions about chicks

Q) If the eggs hatch, is it likely that both chicks will survive?
A) It is common for bald eagles to successfully fledge 2 chicks from a nest. The older eaglet is typically larger and thus can compete better for food. On the Channel Islands, there is an abundant food supply and bald eagle pairs have successfully raised two chicks on many occasions.

However, as was seen with this nest in 2008 and 2009, bald eagle chicks are vulnerable at this stage and may not survive for various reasons (including starvation, predation, etc). Please see 2009 and 2008 Season Recap below.

Q) Are both parents involved in feeding the chick(s)?
A) Both parents will bring food back to the nest (mostly fish and some seabirds). At around 6 weeks of age, eaglets learn how to feed themselves.

Q) When are chicks banded?
A) IWS biologists will band the chicks at 8 weeks of age (sometime at the end of May). We will post the exact date on the Discussion Forum.

Q) When do chicks fledge?
A) Most bald eagles fledge around 12 weeks of age.  For the Pelican Harbor nest, any eaglets would fledge in early-mid June.

Q)  Do the mother and father come to the nest to help teach the eaglet(s) how to fly, or will they learn on their own?
A) The eaglet will take its first flight by itself. Although an eaglet has been watching its parents fly from the nest for several months, instinct will take over for its first flight. The eaglet will do lots of wing exercises and will take short practice flights across the nest to develop muscle strength. Typically for its first flight, an eaglet will fly to a nearby branch or land on the ground.

Q) Do the parents feed the eaglet(s) once it has fledged?
A) Yes. Eaglets will generally remain in their parents' territory for about a month before starting to explore on their own. Feedings take place at the nest and anywhere else the eaglet can get the adults to drop food.

Q) There is no shade available in this nest. Is it normal for eagles to be in the sun constantly?
A) The adults will shade the chick to avoid heat stress and will also shield the chick during inclement weather. However, as the chick gets bigger it is more difficult for the adults to shade the chick. Bald eagles are able to withstand full sunshine because they can control their temperature by panting with their mouth open or through heat loss through the unfeathered legs and feet.

2009 Pelican Harbor Nest Recap

Two eggs were laid on February 25 and 28, 2009. The eggs hatched out on April 3 and 8, 2009. Unfortunately, both chicks died of unknown causes.

2008 Pelican Harbor Nest Recap

Two eggs were laid and both successfully hatched. On May 19, 2008, a sub-adult Bald Eagle attacked the two 7-week old chicks (A-64 and A-65) on their nest. Both survived their injuries and after medical treatment were placed in a hack tower on Santa Cruz Island rather than being replaced on the nest. Both eaglets successfully fledged from the hack tower in July 2008. A-64 (Spirit) is still alive and was recently seen on Santa Rosa Island in February 2010. A-65 (Skye) died shortly after fledging on Santa Cruz Island.

2007 Season and A-63 (Limuw) Related Questions

One chick A-63 (Limuw) successfully fledged in 2007.

Q) Why was this chick named A-63?
A) This chick was the 64th bird to be released/produced on the northern Channel Islands since the reintroduction project started in 2002 (the first bird being A-00).

Q) When was A-63 banded?
A) IWS biologists banded the eaglet on June 8, 2007 when he was approximately 8 weeks old.

Q) When did A-63 fledge?
A) A-63 fledged on June 28, 2007- the same day the bald eagle was delisted from the Endangered Species Act. He was almost 11 weeks old.

Q) Where is A-63 now?
A) A-63 was exploring Santa Cruz Island until he left for the mainland on August 8, 2007. He quickly flew through California to Nevada and into Idaho! Sadly, A-63 was found dead on August 15, 2007, on a highway in northern Nevada.

2006 Season and A-49 (Cruz) Related Questions

One chick A-49 (Cruz) successfully fledged in 2006.

Q) What does the “49” stand for on the tag?
A) A-49 is the 50th bird to be released/produced on the northern Channel Islands since the reintroduction project started in 2002 (the first bird being A-00). It is a great coincidence that this is the first chick that hatched naturally on the Channel Islands since 1949.

Q) Where is A-49 now?
A) A-49 has been seen flying between the northern Channel Islands and has visited the mainland once. A-49 was recently spotted on Santa Rosa Island in February 2010.

Q) How often did A-49 get fed in the nest?
A) The adults usually brought at least 2-3 fish to the nest each day. They also brought back quite a few seabirds to the nest.

Q) When did A-49 fledge?
A) A-49 fledged on July 14, 2006. After A-49 flew off the nest tree, she lost a little altitude, flapped, circled, and disappeared behind the ridge the nest tree is on.

Q) How old was A-49 when she fledged?
A) A-49 was 13.5 weeks old when she fledged. Usually eagles will fledge between 11-12 weeks. Perhaps the chick's lack of food during the first three days after hatching is why it took so long to fledge.

Q) What was sticking out of A-49s back?
A) All of the bald eagles released or produced on Santa Cruz Island have an antenna sticking out of its back that is part of a backpack-mounted transmitter package. The package consists of two components: a 70 gram solar-powered GPS transmitter and a small VHF radio, which is attached to the side of the GPS unit.

Questions about Santa Cruz Island Nests

Q) How many nests are there on Santa Cruz Island?
A) There are currently 3 known nest sites- Pelican Harbor, Malva Real, and Sauces Canyon. However, we expect that there could be several more nests discovered in 2010.

Malva Real- The pair A-04 (female) and K-11 (male) successfully nested at this site in 2006. This site was unique because it is one of the only known nesting sites on the ground! The chick from the 2006 season (A-60) is doing well and was recently seen on Santa Rosa Island in February 2010.  In 2007, the pair again attempted to nest on the ground in the same area, but the nest failed. In 2008, they laid 2 eggs in a similar location that hatched on April 4 and 5. Unfortunately, the female A-04 was killed in a fight with another bald eagle and the 2 chicks died. In 2009, the new female of this territory A-17 and the male K-11 did not nest. In 2010, this pair was confirmed to be nesting in a Bishop Pine on the western end of Santa Cruz Island.

Sauces Canyon- The pair first started using this nest site on Santa Cruz Island in 2008. The female (A-02) was born at the San Francisco Zoo and was released on Santa Cruz Island in 2002. The male (A-28) was born in Alaska and was released on Santa Cruz Island in 2004. This is the first all Santa Cruz Island eagle nest (both eagles were released on Santa Cruz Island). Unfortunately, the first-time nesters failed in 2008. In 2009, the pair was seen incubating, but the nest also failed. The female A-02 was found dead in July of 2009. In 2010, a new female A-27 is paired up with A-28 and we are hoping they will have a successful outcome at that nest.

Q) How many bald eagles have been released or produced on Santa Cruz Island?
A) A total of 61 eagles were released on Santa Cruz Island from 2002-2006. An additional 5 eaglets fledged from nests on Santa Cruz Island from 2006-2009. Approximately 35-40 eagles remain on the Northern Channel Islands.

Questions about other Channel Islands Nests

Q) What about bald eagles nesting on the other Channel Islands?
A) There are also bald eagles nesting on Santa Rosa and Catalina Island.

Santa Rosa Island- In 2008, a bald eagle nest on Santa Rosa Island was discovered. The female (A-22) was born at the San Francisco Zoo and was released on Santa Cruz Island in 2004. The male (A-08) was born in Alaska and was released on Santa Cruz Island in 2002. In 2008 and 2009, this pair attempted to nest, but did not hatch any eggs. Two eggs were collected from this in 2009 and will be analyzed for contaminants.

Catalina Island- There are 6 active breeding territories on Catalina Island: Twin Rocks, Seal Rocks, Pinnacle Rocks, Two Harbors, Rattlesnake, and West End. Additional information on the Catalina Island pairs can be found in the Discussion Forum.

General Bald Eagle Questions

Q) When do eagles get their white heads?
A) Bald eagles get their distinctive white head feathers around 4-5 years of age.

Q) How large can a bald eagle get?
A) By the time a bald eagle leaves the nest, it will be almost full grown. The
wingspan of a bald eagle ranges from 6-8 feet and they can weigh between 8-14 pounds.

Q) How do you tell the sex of the bald eagle?
A) Biologists will take a series of measurements of the eagle which will give a good indication if the bird is male or female. However, a DNA test is done to make the final determination.

Q) When is the bald eagle mating season?
A) The bald eagle breeding season in southern California runs from January through July. There can be some nest maintenance as early as December.