It’s bald eagle nesting season, and people nests might be large
–Editor’s word: A model of this publish was revealed final April
Bald eagles across the nation are getting ready to boost new broods and people who admire them, by way of live-cams or in particular person, may surprise simply how giant are these nests?
One reply is offered in {a photograph} that circulates every year by way of social media, displaying a ranger sitting in a duplicate nest measuring 5 toes huge and three toes deep – the approximate dimensions of a four-person sizzling tub.
The photograph was initially shared final in 2021 12 months by Forest Park Nature Middle in Illinois. The Fb publish states that the duplicate nest is housed at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio.
However bald eagle nests are sometimes a lot bigger. The Forest Park Nature Middle defined that the biggest recorded nest “measured 9.5 toes in diameter, 20 toes deep, and weighed nearly 6,000 kilos!”
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That nest, based on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, was constructed by eagles in St. Petersburg, Fla. The lab’s “All About Birds” web site states: “One other well-known nest — in Vermilion, Ohio — was formed like a wine glass and weighed nearly two metric tons. It was used for 34 years till the tree blew down.”
Bald eagle guards nest from treetop. Picture: ©Pete Thomas
Nests are sometimes constructed within the tallest conifers. Whereas each mother and father construct a nest, the feminine performs many of the department and twig placement.
Earlier this month, in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park in east San Diego County, I captured the accompanying picture displaying a bald eagle atop a towering tree, guarding the nest with eggs about 20 toes under.
The opposite eagle was in a close-by tree, additionally standing guard, whereas pesky ravens communicated amongst themselves, raucously, in one other tree.
Bald eagle on nest responsibility. Picture: ©Pete Thomas
Eaglets, after they fledge, usually spend about 4 years in “nomadic exploration of huge territories” and may fly a whole lot of miles per day.
Immature bald eagles born in California, for instance, have traveled as far north as Alaska.