There are at least two Bald Eagle nests (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the location where I take many of my wildlife photos. One of them is located adjacent to a popular trail and most years the authorities close nearby trails during eagle nesting season. There has been a lot of construction at the refuge over the past few months and, although I saw an eagle couple at that nesting site on several occasions, it looks like they may not have occupied that nest this year (and the trails have not been closed).
The second nest, pictured below, is in a more remote location—it is visible through the trees from one of the trails, but is surrounded by dense vegetation, so the eagles are more insulated from human activity. On a recent visit to the refuge, I was pleased to spot both members of an eagle couple in the nest. I am pretty sure that the eagle on the left is the male, because male eagles tend to be considerably smaller than their female counterparts.
With a bit of luck I hope to be able to spot some eaglets here in the upcoming months, although I noted last year that it is a real challenge to do so, because the wall of this large nest appear to be quite high and effectively hide the eagles from view.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice Mike! That is one of the largest eagle nests I have seen!
Nice shot Mike!
Neat capture!
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
That’s a serious nest, Mike. They do pretty good work without tools, especially considering that they have to bring all the “lumber” in by hand, er, beak.
Maybe Home Depot can get some drones and do home delivery for the eagles. 🙂 As far as I can tell, Dan, the eagles add on each year and it has probably taken many years for the nest to grow this large.
Sounds like my kind of bird 😉
We noticed the squirrels either adding onto their nest or making repairs. It’s amazing. They find a stick or a twig with some leaves, carry it 30-40′ up into the tree, place it and then start over. I get lumber delivered to my door and it still takes forever to finish a project.
Nice image that really shows off that massive nest and the limbs holding it all together. Wow!
Oh how very excited you must’ve been to have found this pair in the nest, Mike. Great photo and happy day! I hope all goes well for them.
[…] via Eagle couple in a nest — Mike Powell […]
Such a massive nest! Is is ok if I share on Exploring Colour?
Absolutely you are welcome to share it.
[…] leucocephalus). Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. What a monster nest! For more info see Mike Powell’s original post. Click on photo to […]
Such a large nest, most impressive!