Eagle Trials

When I see a bald eagle, I usually think of the them as the master of the sky, who dominates by sheer size and power the other birds. I generally don't think of them as being hurt by predators, but Jackie and Shadow have changed my opinion. Jackie and Shadow are two bald eagles in the San Bernardino National Forest in California. I hear updates on Jackie and Shadow from the wife, who I think gets her maternal instinct fix from reading about the trials of the pair.

Eagle looking for fish at Laura Lake

I have seen eagle nests her in Wisconsin, particularly at Laura Lake and one here in McFarland near lower Mud Lake on the Mahunt property. The nests are really quite big. For Jackie and Shadow the nest sits in a Jeffrey Pine tree, about five feet down from the top of the 150' or so pine. Their nest is 6' deep, so deeper than I am tall, and about 5.5' in width, so a few inches less than my height. The nest was built by another eagle pair and taken over by Jackie.

The female eagle is larger than the male, usually 25% TO 33% bigger, and Jackie is estimated at three feet in height and Shadow at 2.5 feet in height. The eagles are taking care of two eggs, with two to three eggs, per my wife, being normal. The incubation is taxing on the pair, in both care of the egg, keeping away the nasty raven predators and normal care for themselves. We know a great deal about the pair due to two solar-powered cameras that watch the nest and its immediate surroundings. Eagles have a body temperature of 105 degrees so they use that to incubate, but instincts will tell them when they need to let off and perhaps let the eggs cool somewhat. Fluff materials in the nest provide some insulation and softness. This fluffy stuff, made up of dried grass, reeds and feathers, can make the eagle snit, which is eagle-ease for sneeze. 

Eagle at Laura Lake

Eagle watching is nothing to sneeze at. It can be hours of boredom followed by a few minutes of terror. Jackie and Shadow faced terror several days ago when a mob attacked the eagle nest, looking to harm the two eggs the eagle pair have been tending. A group of ravens, is called an "unkindness" which literally speaks volumes to the type of birds ravens are, but a group that attacks a larger bird, such as an eagle is called a mob, and they are engaged in mobbing behavior. 

The best account is in the Eagle Log for the pair on March 13: 

Yesterday from mid-morning all the way through to the evening, Jackie and Shadow were on alert most of the day, as some of the visiting birds in the area decided to return to bother them after a quiet hiatus.

Before all the intruder activity, Shadow delivered a new stick that he cunningly used to get Jackie up off the eggs. He first placed the pokey stick on her back. When that didn't work, he moved around and up closer to her head. Bonk..that did the trick! He was blocking her way out the front porch though, so she had to wing bump him to get by. After she flew off, he tilted his head and looked a bit confused how she might have been disturbed by any of that!

A bit later, Shadow was on the eggs and also on alert as he loudly called Jackie in for backup. Their loud calls were directed at five ravens who circled above and around the nest tree. A couple of them touched down briefly on the canopy above and one boldly landed on the High Perch.

Since bald eagles and ravens have similar breeding and nesting seasons in this area, both are highly territorial and active in defending their nest and territory. Ravens often use a tactic called mobbing to harass or drive out larger birds like bald eagles. As both eagles and ravens may tend to their own nest and eggs, the behaviors and the conflicts between them are mostly driven strictly by survival instincts.

Jackie and Shadow continued to work together the remainder of the day. A young juvenile bald eagle perched for 25 minutes on their favorite Lookout Snag branch, plus Jackie and Shadow dealt with more nearby raven activity.

Later in the afternoon, Jackie aggressively chased a few ravens away and then before bed, Shadow also chased a juvenile bald eagle out of the Roost Tree area. It ended up spending the night roosting on the Simba Tree, further away from Jackie and the eggs.

Jackie and Shadow are used to these highly opportunistic predators and scavengers that see their eggs as a nutritious source of food. They both were in sync and did a great job defending the nest and their precious eggs… and they will continue to do so in a heartbeat.

For Jackie and Shadow the two eggs are their second pair, with ravens having mobbed their way in and destroyed the first pair earlier this year.  As of March 20, the two current eggs were laid a few days apart: "Egg#1 is 24 days old and Egg#2 is 21 days old. The eggs are still in the incubation period with about 10 more days of incubation before Pip Watch begins on March 31. Once we see the initial hole in the outer shell, it could take 2-3 days for a chick to fully hatch."

Eagle at Laura Lake

Hence, sometime early next week, if not Sunday, the eggs should start to hatch, provided they have no more mob incidents from the nasty ravens. My household raptor specialist will likely keep me informed as the hopeful hatching. We can then, have some months of watching them branching, to fledgling to post fledgling stages. The two nest cameras give a view into the trails of eagles and their young. Yet, one never knows what happens in nature.

Quotes from https://friendsofbigbearvalley.org/eagles/

Photos by author, 2024