Eagle Nest Diaries 2002

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This is the first page in our Eagle Nest Diaries series which continued in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The following photos were taken on an INHF project site along the Upper Iowa River in 2002. By protecting this land, INHF members also protected a bald eagle pair's nest. The photos below show the eagle parents raising an eaglet in that nest. The photos were taken with a high-powered lens by Mary Ellen Leicht.

April 19-20, 2002: Surprise, the eagle pair has a little one!

Parent and baby eagle on nest.
Our observers first saw the baby on April 19, 2002.

Did you know that one of the largest eagle nests ever found was 20 feet deep and ten feet wide? It weighed two tons! We suspect the "our" eagle nest is about seven feet wide and five feet deep. The average width is about five feet. Most eagles come back to their nests each year and add new nest material, including twigs, mosses, grasses, feathers and more. It is important to protect eagle nests and the trees that contain them. In fact, it is illegal to destroy eagle nests.

Parent takes flight.
This picture demonstrates the eagle's massive wingspan. The bald eagle's average wingspan is about seven feet long! If you enjoy seeing eagles, try attending one of many organized "eagle watches" in Iowa this winter. Some of the most popular eagle watches are held in the Quad Cities, Dubuque, Keokuk, Muscatine, Pella, Red Rock and Saylorville. Contact your local county conservation board or park manager for more information.

May 25, 2002: They grow up so quickly.

Juvenile eagle perched on nest.
Many new bird watchers mistake juvenile bald eagles for other species. Juveniles start with a very dark body (including head, tail, beak and eyes) and variable white mottling on their armpits, wing lining and sometimes undertail. They don't get their well-known adult coloring until they are four or five years old. Bald eagles are sometimes thought to actually be bald. This is not true; their head, neck and tail are covered by white feathers. The word bald is derived from balde, an old English word that means white.

June 17, 2002: Getting ready to fly.

Juvenile eagle flexes its wings.
The baby hopped onto the limb in the afternoon and back into the nest in the evening.

The juvenile eagle is getting stronger each day. According to notes taken by our source, "It hopped up and flapped its wings--and its feet even left the nest for a second or two!" Juveniles, especially males, return to the area they were born and will nest nearby once they reach adulthood. Sometimes, it appears young eagles will return and act as "helpers" to the nest.

Adult eagle with banded legs.
The photographer and assistant noted that one of the adult eagles has been banded. Though they couldn't read the banding numbers, they contacted the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to get more information. DNR staff reported the eagle was probably banded by the Wildlife Diversity staff in 1996. Because of budget cuts, DNR staff can't afford to monitor eagle nests like they did in the past, but we'll pass on more information about the band and bird ID if it becomes available.

June 25, 2002: First flight.

Our contact said the juvenile eagle did fully fledge, or molt its wings into feathers necessary for flight. In fact some of our eagle observers saw the eagle take its first flight!

NOTE: If you should find an eagle's nest, do not approach or bother the birds. Stay at least 400 yards (four football fields) away from the nest. Otherwise, the adult eagles may abandon their nest and their eggs. If the adults are even flushed from the nest during spring's cold, wet weather, the nestlings can become quickly chilled and die. Consequently, we are not revealing the exact location of this nest.