22 years ago I climbed into a Bald Eagle nest...

[Treerooster]

A little lead in...My wife and I use to volunteer with the Colo DOW banding Bald Eagles. I climbed into the nest and lowered the eagles to my wife for measuring & banding. Under the supervision of a DOW raptor biologist. We did it annually for 12 springs and banding just short of 200 eaglets. Also built some Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, and Osprey nests along with rescuing/releasing a few eagles & hawks that got themselves into trouble. Anyways....



I read an article yesterday about some Bald Eagle nest watchers finally identifying a band on Bald that was nesting with a live camera on the nest. Apparently it took them quite a while to get the whole number but they finally got it and posted it in the article. Band #629-44094. Turns out it was an eagle I banded 22 years ago in 2002! A female and she has been nesting at a site in Colorado 45 miles from where I banded her. Just a really COOL feeling to know a chick I banded/handled is still doing well.

Here is a link to the nest cam.



https://birdcam.xcelenergy.com/Cams/xcel_energy_eagle_cams/

A link to the article.

https://www.raptorresource.org/2024/04/18/cool-eagle-news-from-fort-st-vrain/

Here is a pic of the eaglet the day of banding and her nest tree she was hatched in.

[357MAGNOLE]

That's awesome. I put trail cameras out to catch a glimpse of this year's hatch. So you could say I did the same 😂 seriously though that's pretty cool.

[davisd9]

That is pretty dang awesome for sure!


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[Hawkspur]

That is really cool. Eagles are an incredible bird.

[tad1]

Wow, that's really awesome!

[aclawrence]

Wow that is cool. I've seen one nest in the wild and it was big. It was up in the top of a pine tree and I'm not sure how you could climb into it. Very cool.


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[boatpaddle]

Your a very fortunate man, along the Mrs. to have that opportunity to band eagles..

They are beautiful birds...

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[SwampRooster17]

Very cool!


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[JeffC]

Thank you for all the hard work you and your wife put into helping such a magnificent bird, mother nature needs all the help it can get.

[CAPTJJ]

Great story.

[Sir-diealot]

That's neat. Got a picture of a crow repeatedly dive bombing a bald eagle today.

[Turkeybutt]

Pretty cool to know she is doing well after all these years. Great story, thanks for sharing.

[eggshell]

Makes you feel like a proud Poppa doesn't it. In the late 70s Ohio had only a handful of eagle nest and all them were along Lake Erie. This year the nest count could very well hit 1,000. What a wonderful conservation story. I don't remember the year, but I think it was around 25 years ago one of the first nest in my area was built on a very good friends farm. ODW banded those eaglets for years. The nest met tragedy when a storm blew it out and the eagles never returned. Now there are several nest in the area and one is right along a US highway for easy viewing. I see eagles almost every day I go fishing. It's great.

I've shared with many of you that I worked 30 plus years for ODNR. Most of those at a state fish hatchery, twenty two of those as Hatchery Manager. I reared literally millions of fish that were released into Ohio's waters. I was responsible for some specific species and lakes. Often I see a picture of someone proudly displaying a trophy fish with a big smile. Many times it's from a specific lake or species and I know it came from my facility. Many times I look at that picture and I am satisfied that yeah that was once one of my babies. In those moments I know my hard work and days of stress were worth it and I can even take a little pride in my life's work. It's like seeing your kid succeed and fulfill their dreams and purpose. Stick your chest out and be proud of your past work Treerooster, it's ok to feel like a proud Poppa.

 Our beloved wild turkey has been on somewhat of a similar story path. Although we are all concerned with declines turkeys are back in a big way.

[Treerooster]

Makes you feel like a proud Poppa doesn't it. In the late 70s Ohio had only a handful of eagle nest and all them were along Lake Erie. This year the nest count could very well hit 1,000. What a wonderful conservation story. I don't remember the year, but I think it was around 25 years ago one of the first nest in my area was built on a very good friends farm. ODW banded those eaglets for years. The nest met tragedy when a storm blew it out and the eagles never returned. Now there are several nest in the area and one is right along a US highway for easy viewing. I see eagles almost every day I go fishing. It's great.

I've shared with many of you that I worked 30 plus years for ODNR. Most of those at a state fish hatchery, twenty two of those as Hatchery Manager. I reared literally millions of fish that were released into Ohio's waters. I was responsible for some specific species and lakes. Often I see a picture of someone proudly displaying a trophy fish with a big smile. Many times it's from a specific lake or species and I know it came from my facility. Many times I look at that picture and I am satisfied that yeah that was once one of my babies. In those moments I know my hard work and days of stress were worth it and I can even take a little pride in my life's work. It's like seeing your kid succeed and fulfill their dreams and purpose. Stick your chest out and be proud of your past work Treerooster, it's ok to feel like a proud Poppa.

 Our beloved wild turkey has been on somewhat of a similar story path. Although we are all concerned with declines turkeys are back in a big way.

Thanks for sharing that eggshell. Cool story & thoughts.

When I started out volunteering with the Colo DOW I just wanted to give back something because I was a hunter. I'd done the various banquets thing but wanted to get my hands dirty helping wildlife. I ended up getting back so much more than I gave with the experiences I got and the people I met.

It did cost me some turkey huntin' tho as it was a spring thing...but still.   

[bpsmag1026]

That is neat!