bald eagle nest

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By H&G Bald Eagle Nest update 10/31/2021

Jordan Lake: One of the reasons for keeping field notes is to make sure that the researcher’s memory doesn’t confuse facts… I had thought that Godiva and Hershey were early this year in their nest repair. Hmmm. My notes say they started repair work in mid-October 2019 too!

Mom Godiva piles into the nest with a big branch and Hershey, who had been sitting on the brim of the nest piles out.
Hershey is moving out of the way in a hurry.
You can see the new stick … it is a horizontal branch still in Godiva’s feet.
Only 29 minutes later Godiva was returning with another huge branch for the repair work.

By Hey Dad, Watch This!

Jordan Lake, Bald Eagle Nest report: H&G NestOne of the chicks at the nest tried hard to impress Dad Hershey. Dad dutifully watched the chick bounce, but quickly went back to doing other nest-keeping chores. The chick is not yet properly branching, when it steps up on the branch to the left of the nest. Soon though, it will be much higher above the nest in proper branching mode.

By Jordan Lake, Bald Eagle Nest report: H&G Nest

Looking left to right: Mom Godiva getting a piece of fish ready to feed to her rapidly growing chicks, a chick right against the main trunk of the tree and then the second chick to the right of the main trunk.

The whole family! That is Dad Hershey perched way to the left, then in the nest it is Mom Godiva, a chick trying to push in and get a bite of food and then the other chick still to the right of the trunk. Great getting to see the whole family all at once. And, it is easy to see in this photo how light brown Dad is … that is how he got his name … after the chocolate bar.

By Help Protect the Bald Eagles!

Help Protect the Bald Eagles at Jordan Lake!  We all want to see the bald eagles and perhaps get a photograph.  Here is how to see the eagles and not bother them. This time of the year it is breeding season for our bald eagles.   It is up to us to protect the parents and their families.  The MOST important rule is this: stay at least 660 feet from a nest – that is the length of 2 football fields.  If there are ANY signs of agitation by the parents, even if you are far away, please simply leave the area.  Do you know that bald eagles are very sensitive to human intrusion and will get so upset that they will abandon their nest and its eggs or chicks!  Yes, the parents will do this.  So, if you find yourself near a nest, please leave and let the parents have the peace and quiet they need in order to take care of their families.  If the eagle isn’t near a nest, then you can approach within 330ft – that is 1 football field away.   We would also ask that if you see a disturbance at a bald eagle nest, please call the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area office at (919) 362-0586.  Help us keep these distance rules and you are helping the bald eagles take care of their families and giving us generations of sightings!