Some natural objects are so profoundly moving they actually have a species of visual poetry about them, singing of glory and wonder. In my estimation, there is no spectacle in the world so inspiring as the soaring Bald Eagle floating on outstretched wings. A bird of unsurpassed power and majesty with a beauty that is both royal and splendid, the Bald Eagle is truly a study in the anatomy of flight.

The San Juan Islands have the most significant Bald Eagle breeding population in the continental U.S. with approximately 94 pairs of nesting eagles. Monogamous and mating for life, a Bald Eagle will only select another mate if its companion should die. With females larger than males, their nest sites are commonly in old-growth Douglas fir up to 180’ off the ground. With fish and waterfowl as the eagle’s primary food, their nests typically have good visibility close to the water.

The eagle’s home is a castle, to be sure. Nests are added to each year and can become impressively large. A massive platform built of sticks up to 5’ or more in length, lined with moss and grasses, these nests may reach 10’ across and 20’ deep.

Eagles lay from one to three eggs between late May and early June. After 34-36 days incubation, the young birds emerge. Eaglet feeding and brooding are performed by both mother and father. The young eagles, a dark brown in color, leave the nest after 10-12 weeks. Not until their fourth or fifth year do the head and tail feathers turn white.

While the Bald Eagle soaring against the sky may seem free, in reality the Bald Eagle is not free at all, except perhaps when young and not yet anchored to mate or nest site. For the rest of its life, the Bald Eagle lives in bondage, not to the mate, but to the master of both the territory and particularly the giant nest to which it has become a lifelong caretaker. Wherever the eagle travels, its home territory exerts a magnetic force drawing it back. The eagle’s freedoms become little freedoms, but it does not escape the demands of the nest. The choice is not its own.

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 23rd, 2010 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Island Living, San Juan Island, Wildlife. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.