Finding the Nest
29 January 2021
Incubating.
ID - QA-052-01-29-21-2
The day is 29 January 2021, it’s mostly cloudy and 30 degrees, winds are 22 miles per hour NNW. I’ve come to Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area (NRMA) to bird.
Wye Island NRMA consists of 2,450 acres and is managed by the Maryland Park Service. It is located between the Wye River and the Wye East River. There are woods, some farmed fields and 30 miles of shoreline.
This was my first visit to Wye Island NRMA. I drove to the end of Wye Island Road and noticed the trails marked along the road included signs stating is was hunting season. I thought it best not to bird these trails, instead I drove down Lodge Lane which posted a No Hunting sign. At the end of the lane is a small parking lot. The parking lot looks out to a dormant corn field outlined by trees on two sides. A sign for the Dividing Creek Trail is visible from the lot. This trail cuts through the field and into the line of trees in the distance. As I got out of my vehicle a gentlemen was walking towards the parking lot. I said hello and noticing my binoculars he proceeded to tell me about an eagle nest in a tree at the far side of the field. He witnessed two adults and two juveniles at the nest sight. He explained that earlier there seemed to be a bit of commotion between the four of them on and around the nest. Checking the nest with my binoculars I noticed an adult on the nest. I never did not see the juveniles. I documented the nest coordinates and later contacted the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership staff, informing them of the sighting and offering to monitor the nest. The nest had not been recorded, they added it, gave it the ID of QA-052 and assigned the monitoring to me.
Wye Island NRMA Map
Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership
Maryland Bald Eagle Nest Monitoring Program
Maryland Department of Natural Resources no longer monitors Bald Eagles in Maryland. This discontinued once the Bald Eagle was delisted as an endangered species in 2007. The number of nesting pairs has increased to approximately 1,500 from an all-time low of 44 pairs in 1977. This increase in numbers is very encouraging but the Bald Eagle population remains threatened by numerous factors such as coastal development, fish population changes and secondary poisoning.
The Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership has recruited and trained volunteers to help with citizen science - collecting data that can help scientists predict and prevent threats by keeping track of population trends
NestStory
NestStory is a data system used by nest monitors to enter data related to nesting site missions. Information collected includes start and end time of the mission, weather conditions, and observations. Mission related photographs can also be uploaded.
QA-052 Missions
Beginning with my first visit to the nest site on 29 January 2021 I checked the nest approximately every 5 days, entering my observations and photos in NestStory. The following entrees are a summery of those missions. Note that some of the pictures do not show both eaglets; the nest is deep on the far side causing the second one to sometimes be hidden.
