One of the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nests at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seems to have suffered some damage during the off-season. It looks like one of the supporting branches broke off and more than half of the nest was dumped to the ground. The nest was relatively small in previous years and until yesterday I saw no signs that the eagles were planning to try to repair it and use it again this year.
The refuge has blocked off portions of the nearby roads to allow the eagles to nest in peace, but with my long telephoto zoom lens I am able to get a glimpse of the action. As I was standing at the barrier yesterday, I was thrilled when I saw one eagle fly into the nest and a few moments later, the second one arrived as well. After a short time together, one of the eagles flew off while the other eagle assumed what looked like a position of waiting.
A few minutes later the first eagle returned carrying a pretty large branch. I have seen ospreys carrying branches like this, but I had never seen an eagle do so. These three shots document part of the eagle’s journey with the branch. The final shot shows the eagle carefully approaching the nest where its mate was waiting. Amazingly, the eagle was able to weave its way through the branches of the tree and place its prize on the nest that is clearly still under construction.
I shot some images that show the current state of the nest that I will share in a future post. I also plan to do a post on the status of the other eagle nest at the refuge, the one that is huge by comparison with this one. Stay tuned for further developments as the eagles prepare for nesting season.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Wow, how neat to watch that action! Just amazing the size of the stick and that they get it into the nest! I hope this pair’s efforts aren’t in vain with the loss of the nest support. It will be interesting to follow their season.
Fabulous shots!
You wonder sometimes, if Eagles or other birds sometimes just mis-calculate and crash, like in this case, with their big stick catching on other branches. That would be the photo of all photos. Great pics. M 🙂
I wondered the same thing and was not sure the eagle would be able to get the large stick safely to the nest. The eagle made a couple of other trips with what looked to be smaller sticks, but it was hard to tell, because the eagle flew a lot closer to the ground and for a shorter distance.
I feel bad for having my lumber delivered.
I can’t even begin to imagine the skill that is required to fly while carrying a branch that size. I am sure the eagles would appreciate a drone delivery service to bring them building supplies (and maybe a meal delivery service when they are actually sitting on the nest). 🙂
That’s a lot to fly with, especially in between branches.
We had a large male Irish Setter who liked to play with “sticks” like that. It was dangerous to be out there if he started running.
The bird looks to have great navigation skills 😀😀
This is absolutely amazing. I have also seen Osprey do this, but never an eagle. Remarkable.
I was a bit shocked, but not so much that I was paralyzed. My camera/lens combo is not that great in tracking birds when the lighting is as bad as it was yesterday, but fortunately the eagle was a relatively big subject. One of the things that most attracts me to wildlife photography is the unpredictability of each session–I literally do not know what I will encounter each time I go out. I just try to be alert and observant and then respond quickly to what ever happens.
The last sentence sums it up. Keep on shooting, my friend.
Fantastic action shots!
Wow Mike! Never saw an Eagle carry a stick that large! Cool shot!
Love the clarity in that first shot particularly, Mike. I look forward to seeing the progress as the breeding season moves along.
Thanks, Eliza. The lighting was not as good as I would have liked it–heavily overcast–but I did manage to separate the eagle from the distant background. My lens and camera struggle a little in low light.
Great shots! Eagles are so cool.
Heavy cargo 🙂
It’s not as dense as some of the fish that I have seen eagles carry, but I would imagine it was kind of unwieldy to balance it while flying.
That’s a pretty long stick! It would have made for an interesting arrival at the nest!
I was a little concerned, but somehow the eagle was navigate its way through the tree branches and was able to deposit it on the nest.
Stunning! had no idea an eagle would attempt to carry such a long and large-size branch. This was great education for me 🙂
Thanks, Liz. I too had never seen an eagle carrying a branch like that, though I have seen ospreys carry some that were only a little smaller (https://michaelqpowell.com/2018/03/20/osprey-gathering-sticks/).
Hahaha! incredible what they’ll cart around with them in flight 🙂
Unfortunately for them the lumber stores don’t deliver to their nests. 🙂
Ha! such terrible service 😀
[…] when I spotted the couple engaged in some reconstruction efforts that I documented in the posting Carry a big stick with a shot of an eagle carrying a large branch to this small nest. The first two photos, which I […]