A sure sign of the bald eagle’s recovery, two young bald eagles managed to hatch and feed two chicks in a nest in downtown Eugene near Skinner Butte. Local bird enthusiasts Tom and Allison Mickel have been observing the eagle’s nest since April. They believe it is the first time the adults have built a nest and are impressed the new parents are able to care for the young as well as they have been.
The chicks do not have the characteristic white feathers on their heads and will not get them for several more years. Their parents, which the Mickels believe to be just two or three years old, do not have the full white feathers of adulthood yet either.
Situated in almost a direct line with an osprey nest, the Mickels said the eagles and ospreys would probably be competing for food. An eagle measures 31 to 37 inches from beak to tail and has a wingspan of 70 to 90 inches, larger than the osprey.
The Mickels said the osprey is good at catching fish, and the eagle is good at scaring the osprey. The osprey would probably drop the fish, allowing the eagle to swoop in and grab it before it falls to the ground.
While the diet of the fledgling eagles consists mostly of fish, the Mickels say the chicks aren’t particularly picky. Because they have yet to find food on their own or fly, it is not uncommon for the fledglings to weigh more than the parents at the time they leave the nest, they said.
These eagles will leave the nest soon and may stay in the area for a while.
– Jill Aho
Eagle Sighting
Daily Emerald
July 17, 2007
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