Sunday, I went to our Chico Eagle nest at 7 AM. As I was walking out, I spotted a parent sitting in a tree that hangs over the Sacramento River. Good, I thought, maybe she/he is fishing and will fly in with a meal . . . I took a peak at the still-far off nest, nothing, but it’s so deep, an adult and chick can both be in it without either showing above the rim. I got out to my spot, set up my tripod. 8 AM came and went. 9 AM came and went. I thought, oh no, something has gone wrong. The nest we visited out on Route 36 last week had the parents hovering, feeding, flying in branches all morning long! This is not good. The chick I saw here last week was too small to be all alone for so long. Then suddenly a parent flew in, dropped off a clump of leaves with a twig attached, stood on the edge a while, and then took off.
Not really comforting to me in my worried state. No feeding, no chick. Then the female flew in to a nearby tree and sat, and sat, and was joined by a magpie. Magpie flew off and 45 minutes went by. I wondered if she was mourning her chick—I googled “Mourning Eagles” on my phone. But then without warning she flew to the nest and a little head popped up!
I stayed until almost noon, but no further action. All is well!!! I was hungry and waded back out through the poison oak and tick-loaded grasses to my car. I pulled off my outer layers to wash when I got home, and my phone rang. It was John E. whose friend Jann was at the other nest on Route 36. No action all morning and a piece of the nest seemed missing. She had called the Eagle Rescue Lady and was waiting to hear back. Didn’t look good. My heart sank. And yes, an hour later it was confirmed, the last chick had been found with some of the nest materials on the ground—it either fell or died and the parents pushed it out. So sad. No more driving to Route 36 to that beautiful vista with the nest . . . See Blissed Out on the Hillside.
Only 20% of eaglets survive their first two years, so no surprise. Just very sad. And I'm sure the parents are grieving too.