First Nest 2026 — Incubation has started.  Father Bard is settled deep into the nest bowl at First Nest. If you look closely in the center of the nest you can just see his head in that low steady posture that tells me the season has truly begun. You may also notice a bright white patch way out on the far right edge of the nest. Those are bird feathers, most likely from a gull. Either Bard brought in his own breakfast before settling to incubate or he delivered a meal to Kate earlier in the day. Eagles leave us plenty of clues if we slow down long enough to read the nest. A new season at Jordan Lake has begun. 

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Spider alert! Besides a spider alert there is also a computer alert… As I am prone to say, computers are fine until they are not. Currently my computer set up is in the midst of a recovery so I don’t have any bald eagle photos to share. However I do have a video of one of my southern house spiders. I do like spiders. Very much. They keep all kinds of other insects out of my kitchen. Usually at night, I leave a wooden spoon leaning in a corner of my enamel kitchen sink. It is there to help the spiders get a drink by climbing down and gathering up moisture that is around the drain. All spiders need moisture/ water. In these dry winter conditions, spiders often get very dehydrated. Late this afternoon I found the house spider that lives above my sink thinking about going down into the sink and I had not put a wooden spoon in the corner for her to use as a ladder. So I got a few drops of water on my fingers and dripped them on her web. You can see that she gets very excited and runs up to the largest droplet. She instantly drops her palps into the droplet and inhales the moisture!

First Nest Bald Eagles: As I was getting journals and itinerary ready for this breeding season, it occurred to me that perhaps you would like to see the changes in the nest itself. The 1st photo was taken in the first breeding season 2011-2012. Note that it is wide, straddling the main branches, but is relatively shallow, top to bottom (no bald eagle in the nest). The 2nd photo was made during the 2024-2025 breeding season and Mom Kate is in the nest … note that the nest is considerably deeper (parents add to the top of the nest every year and during any needed repairs) and that a lot of the original nest has fallen out and you can now see the anchoring tree branches. Home reconstruction is never ending for breeding bald eagles! #baldeagle #firstnestbaldeagle #firstnestbaldeaglenest #jordanlake #chathamcountync #hawrivernc #DocEllenImages