ASTORIA, Ore. – A pair of bald eagles have made their annual return to Astoria, Ore., to raise another family.
Bald eagles usually mate for life. Every spring for the last several years, the same pair has returned to a nest in a tall Sitka spruce near the Astoria water tower to raise another chick.
The female eagle rarely left the nest, depending on her mate to do all the hunting during their egg’s 35-day incubation period.
Georgia Forrester watched for them from her home across the street. Fascinated by the huge birds, Forrester carefully observes their activities and takes lots of pictures.
This year they were right on schedule, arriving at the same time as last year. On March 15, she saw them fly up into the tree tops to mate.
“From that day on she (the female eagle) almost never left the nest,” Forrester said, until her egg hatched.
Although Forrester hasn’t actually seen a chick yet – last year the baby wasn’t visible until May 15 – she knows it’s there. She said the parents’ behavior indicates there’s another mouth to feed.
“I’ve noticed a lot more food coming in. It looks like she’s reaching forward and feeding it,” Forrester said. And when Forrester listens carefully, she can hear the chick make a soft, whistling sound while it’s feeding.
Another sign is the female eagle has joined in the effort, Forrester said.
“Now she’s doing a little hunting. She’ll go down to the bay and bring food up,” Forrester said.
The eagles have been dining mainly on gulls lately and are still feeding on the carcass of one they caught Sunday, Forrester said.
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