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City of Vancouver Nesting Bald Eagle Update,
June 16, 2009

The three bald eagle chicks in the Port of Vancouver are now almost 8 weeks old.
Photo by Martin Passchier

At this time of year, most of the nesting bald eagles in the City of Vancouver are either diligently raising growing chicks or they have given up this year’s nesting attempt. Seven of the nests have confirmed young while another 5 nests may contain chicks, but they are still too hard to see. Some of the chicks are reaching 8 weeks of age, but there is a variety of different ages this year. The chicks will be almost fully grown by 9 weeks of age and will begin leaving the nest any time after that. Many of the young eagles have already started exercising their wings but it will be a few more weeks before they venture out onto the branches surrounding the nest. This is a dangerous time, as every year some of them fall from the nest prematurely and require rehabilitation assistance.

Vancouver Bald Eagles 2009
Total # of nests	20
Total # of acting nests	16
Total # of breeding pairs (est.)	17
Total # of failed nests (est.)	2
Total number of chicks (est.)	17+

One of the biggest surprises this year was the cluster of three chicks that are occupying a single nest. The Wall St. nest in the Port of Vancouver has successfully seen the hatching and survival of all three energetic youngsters. Such a large family is not totally uncommon for eagles, but we have seen it only once in Vancouver since we started monitoring eagle nests in 2004. Eagles (like other raptors) experience siblicide, where the older and larger chicks out-compete and even kill the younger chicks in the weeks following their hatching. Yet the Wall St. eaglets have survived to nearly 8 weeks of age, so they are all likely to make it to fledging age.

A complete summary of this season’s observations are listed below:

Nest Name	Nest Activity
Merilees Trail, Stanley Park	This eagle pair has an alternate nest in their territory. Last year they successfully raised 2 chicks. However,one of the chicks fell to the ground and injured itself when learning to fly and did not survive. This year the pair hatched 2 chicks in early April. Recently the young have been seen spreading their wings and feeding on dead gulls brought to them by their parents. One of the Merilees eaglets in May. Photo by Mark T. White
Pipeline Road, Stanley Park	This pair started nesting very late this year. The nest structure suffered major damage over the winter and seemed to have fallen into disrepair but the eagles have been rebuilding recently. It seems too late for a nesting attempt, but the eagles have were recently seen grabbing branches from nearby trees and bring them back to their nest. These eagles have not raised chicks in a couple of years, but they have stayed in the area and are active this year.
Cathedral Trail, Stanley Park	This nest is one of the oldest, largest, and highest in Stanley Park and so it is very hard to observe. From the ground there appears to be scattered remains of eagle prey, and the adults have been regularly observed at the nest site. It is very possible that this nest has at least 1 chick, but it is hard to tell how many.
Jericho Beach	This pair of eagles has gone through a lot of difficulties over the years, but this season seems to be much less eventful. The pair has hatched 2 chicks which are now about 7 weeks old. In the past they have lost eggs and chicks to undetermined causes so it is great to see things working out this year. The Jericho eaglets being fed at about 4 weeks old. Photo by Martin Passchier
Vanier Park	The Vanier pair successfully hatched 2 chicks in mid-April. They are getting quite big now and are visible from the Burrard Street Bridge. In past years this pair has had trouble with chicks falling out of the nest before they are ready to fly. We will have to wait and see if the chicks will take flight successfully this year. The two Vanier eaglets at about 7 weeks old. Photo by Martin Passchier
Kerrisdale, Private Property	This eagle pair surprised us this year. When we visited the nest in early spring, it seemed that is was still in bad shape (as it appeared last year). However, the eagles were seen fixing it up and they managed to get it in order in time to lay eggs in April. They have recently been seen feeding their 2 chicks and there is evidence of mallard and fish remains under the nest.
Wall St., Port of Vancouver	This eagle pair has successfully hatched and raised 3 chicks. This is quite a feat, as most eagles raise 1-2 chicks on average. All three chicks are doing very well and are similar in size as they approach their eighth week. Soon they will be venturing out onto the branches to test their wings, and will have a little more space to move around. The eagle pair must have a really good food supply to ensure all of the eaglets survival. The three Wall st. eaglets soon after hatching. Photo by Martin Passchier
SW Marine, Private Property	This nest towering above SW Marine Drive has been productive since we began monitoring it in 2007. This year there is at least 1 chick thought to be occupying the nest. The mother eagle was recently seen watching over the nest while the father chased another adult eagle out of their territory. There is lots of evidence that they have been eating gulls, crows, and ducks.
Musqueam, Pacific Spirit Park	This nest is in a beautiful, quiet grove of cottonwood trees over Musqueam Creek south of Marine Drive. Adult eagles have been active near the nest site, but due to poor visibility, we can not tell if any chicks have hatched.
Hastings Street, Parking Lot	This nest is in one of the busiest and noisiest locations, at the corner of Hastings and Refrew St. Despite this, the eagles have been successful since they built the nest in 2007. This year they are raising 1 chick. The single Hastings St. eaglet with its mother. Photo by Martin Passchier
Westbrook, Pacific Spirit Park	This nest currently has at least 1 chick. The father was recently seen returning to the nest with food for the chick(s), allowing the mother to take her turn to go hunting. Their nest is situated high above the north arm of the Fraser River which seems to be a very productive area for eagles in Vancouver.
Monument, Pacific Spirit Park	This nest is one of the hardest to see or access. It is in a large Douglas-fir tree which hangs over a cliff above the Fraser River. The nest appears to be active again this year, but it is still too hard to see or hear if there are chicks.
Southlands, Private Property	This nest is located in a large cottonwood tree in a private residence in the Southlands of Vancouver. Luckily the eagles’ neighbours are happy to have them living on their property and they have successfully produced 2 chicks this year. The Southlands eagle pair early in the season. Photo by Martin Passchier
Strathcona Park, Imperial (Pacific Spirit Park), and Dining Pavilion (Stanley Park)	These nests failed this year. The adults were seen incubating eggs, but it was clear a month had passed that they were not going to hatch. This is the third year in a row that the Strathcona and Dining Pavilion pairs have been unsuccessful. The Stratchcona pair even tried to build a new nest this winter, but the new location did not help. The Dining Pavilion nest and territory are active almost year round, but they have had trouble laying eggs. This year they only began incubating in mid-May and just recently we observed them leave the nest unsuccessful. The Imperial pair has only raised one chick in the last four years.
Pandora (Private Residence) and Towers Beach (Pacific Spirit Park)	The Towers Beach nest appeared to be active early in the season, but recent surveys indicated that chicks are not likely. We have not seen any eaglets produced from this nest since we began monitoring it in 2006. It is thought to be a secondary nest for another pair of eagles in the area. The Pandora nest was well used up until 2007 when it suddenly became inactive. It is thought that perhaps this nest is a secondary nest to the pair of eagles who took up residence at Wall St. in 2007. (The Pandora nest also produced 3 chicks in 2006).

Photo by Martin Passchier

[ Map of Bald Eagle Nests in Vancouver 2009 (Opens in a new window) ]

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City of Vancouver Nesting Bald Eagle Update,
April 19, 2009

Photo by Martin Passchier

The Vanier Park eaglet doted on by a parent. Photo by Mark T. White

The fuzzy grey head of one of the newly-hatched Vanier Park eaglets.
Photo by Mark T. White

Another season of eagle nest monitoring is underway in Vancouver. There are 19 nests being watched by the same number of volunteers of the Stanley Park Ecology Society. Incubating began in late March for many eagles while others have still not yet laid eggs. Two nests have been confirmed to contain chicks while many others are due to hatch any day.

One new nest has been added to the roster this year, although it has reportedly been in this location for many years already. This new nest near Spanish Banks is in close proximity to two other nests.

One of the more popular nests to watch this year is one situated in the Port of Vancouver off of Wall St. These eagles were seen incubating eggs or brooding newly-hatched chicks even today, despite the construction noise going on around them. It now seems apparent that the Towers Beach and Pandora nests may be secondary sites for pairs in the area. The Pandora nest was seemingly abandoned at the same time that the Wall St. nest became active.