Winter 2012

To All Who Enjoyed the Bald Eagles:
Watch For Next Year's Nest!

The nesting Bald Eagles at the Crystal Springs reservoir have apparently experienced a breeding failure and abandoned their nest. The adult birds have not been seen since Wednesday night, April 18. Disappointing though this is, such a failure is not unusual, or biologically catastrophic. Bald Eagles often have low individual rates of breeding success; furthermore, we know that this female Bald Eagle was a very young bird, since she had a few feathers left over from her third-year plumage. We are hoping, therefore, that this couple will try again next year, a common pattern in young Bald Eagles. Likely the couples' inexperience contributed to this abandonment of the nest, but we hope they have many years of breeding - and breeding success - ahead of them.

Photo: Jennifer Rycenga

It has been a great pleasure for all of us at Sequoia to be "hosting" these Bald Eagles, to help people see the nest and, on better days, to see the birds themselves. The joy, excitement, and inter-generational connections between people made this a rewarding experience for all. We've made a lot of new friends, and hopefully sparked some new birders over the past month.

Sequoia Audubon will suspend its hosting activities at Crystal Springs, effective immediately, unless we detect a miraculous return of the Bald Eagles. We will, however, be prepared to host again next year.

Thanks so much to all the volunteers who did a shift at the reservoir, and to those who didn't get a chance, but had volunteered for the future. We hope to have even more people in place next year as volunteers. Inquire with Sequoia if you wish to assist in future years.

Often Bald Eagles use the southern portion of Crystal Springs Reservoir for hunting during the winter. A good place to look for them are the small islands with poles near the western shore of the reservoir, across from the ranger residence along Cañada Road. Check the email list at peninsula-birds for more information.

Here is a story from the San Francisco Chronicle about the Bald Eagles and their abandonment of the nest:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/22/BAND1O5S04.DTL

Photo: Jennifer Rycenga

An earlier article Once upon a Crystal Springs aerie tale – Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Columnist

Thanks to the entire Board of Sequoia Audubon for organizing this event.