By Catherine Kooyers

Community Contributor

On the afternoon of Nov. 16, around 2:37 p.m., the famous (and loved by thousands across the globe) bald eagle named Harriet, at the Pritchett Nest in Southwest Florida, laid the first egg of this new season and a next generation looks promising. Other than working extra hard on her nest, she hardly showed she was laying that egg.  Of course, eagle watchers across the globe are celebrating and waiting to see if she lays a second and/or third egg. So…with possibility of one or two more eggs coming, eggs getting ready to hatch, new lives to watch, untold drama and joy to unfold…right now is the time to start eagle watching or get back to the computer screen. Be forewarned:  eagles have multiple personalities that change without much warning…so, eagle watching is not for the faint of heart, young or squeamish.

Many people in Wyoming, Grand Haven and countless places in Michigan only need to look up to see an eagle flying or living in a tree overhead. They like pines. They like our ponds and rivers with fish and small animals. I recall one subadult eagle landed feet behind my car as a rabbit ran past, then caught the rabbit. As it clutched the rabbit, it gave me that “don’t even think about touching this rabbit” look, then had lunch as I very calmly backed away.

If you go to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, carefully check out the trees.   Eagles have been seen by the  river and pond at the Home for several years.  In fact, because eagles are seriously protected by law and cherished by many, intense discussions were held during the planning stages of the upcoming rebuild for the Grand Rapids Home to make sure the eagles’ site and wetlands were protected as well.  In fact, there will be eagles living on the grounds of the former Sebille Manor when the  new State Veterans’ Home there is finished. A local who lives by the new Chesterfield Township site teased that he watches a very active nest of eagles from his deck while drinking his morning cup of coffee. We agree the veterans will enjoy watching the eagles there.

Meanwhile, people across the globe, especially in  Michigan and in Florida, are obsessed with watching eagles live out life under the eye of cameras that have been carefully mounted and maintained during the “off season.”  Harriet is super special.  Eagles mate for life, typically. Harriet’s mate died a short time ago and another male eagle stepped in. He is known as M15. Since then, we have watched them build and rebuild nests after the hurricanes, bond, prepare their nests with grasses, rails and food, then lay eggs, watched the eggs pip then hatch. But the best part and total amazement lies in watching them tirelessly, regardless of weather or threat, care for and raise their young…only for the eaglets to leave the nest, not to return.  Somehow, M15 knows to bring an air plant or sticks to get in Harriet’s good graces, that she likes certain types of fish and he literally lays in the nest over the young to give her a break while she goes to the pond for her bath and preening. The differences between their delicate, loving moments and their savage raptor side intrigue many. They pose an internal knowledge that leaves us all questioning “Where does that come from and how?”

Some of the questions are: How do they do what they do? How did their nest survive in an open tree with minimal damage during the hurricanes — which took down homes built by people? How do they know what to do for their young? How do they find each other and stay together for life? What makes them so protective?  They eat or use everything they bring to the nest, nothing is wasted.  (Now, in fairness, that may not be for faint hearted viewers.)

2017-2018 was a very unusually intense period for eagles and nonstop nail biting for eagle watchers. The Southwest Florida nest ended up with ever fascinating eaglets that grew into majestic creatures.  But even they had their moments such as protecting the nest from the evil owl or when the eaglet fell out of the nest too early.  (Spoiler:  it did make it back ok.)

Other nests did not fare as well.  For instance,

• Eaglets in Iowa,  which seemed to be thriving and growing, died suddenly due to a plague of small flies. (Spoiler:  clogged their airways and they suffocated).
• Others ate rodents that had eaten poison and died of poisoning.
• And who can forget the brave tree climber who climbed into an active nest to save an eaglet that was trapped in nest rails, dying — with mother eagle watching, crying after many desperate tries to free it failed???   Somehow, she knew he was a hero  there to help her young and did not attack him. (Spoiler:  that bird grew into a beauty!)
• Seeing a full grown man standing in that nest really brought home to the global network of watchers just how large these raptors and nests are.  What a brave, unique hero!
• In another state, one sibling killed, then ate another sibling…often the result of too many birds in one nest competing for basics or dominance.
• A patriotic eagle in Washington, DC, which flew over monuments and enchanted visitors, died of West Nile very suddenly. The food in the nest attracted insects, which carried the disease, which spread to the bird.
• Elsewhere, we watched for days as the Decorah, Iowa, mother eagle literally cried, screamed and called for her mate. Eagle watchers cried with her and supported each other via internet. That dad eagle left to get fish and disappeared…leaving three baby eaglets behind, not something he would do willingly. Then, that mother regained strength and, to everyone’s sheer amazement, raised all three babies alone  while fighting off suitors which posed a threat to her young. (Spoiler: Somehow, rather than show the degree of sibling rivalry a.k.a. bonking  seen in other nests, those three eaglets seemed to comprehend the situation, worked  with their mom, and they were an unbelievable team which grew into gorgeous creatures.) This year, she has a new mate and we wait to see if they will produce another generation.  It looks promising as they have been working very hard on this year’s nest and appear to respect each other a great deal. Meanwhile, we still struggle to accept we may never know the fate of the devoted father, which never was found.
• Yet, if you look closely, one must laugh to see some nests are also inhabited by little mice…who should be a food source, but are tolerated by some eagles. How is that?
• Then there was a weird one, with many watching the eagle cam high in the tree, some unseen person  cut the tree down at the base — nest and all. Did not see that one coming!

Visit http://archive.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=cam-sites it check out several of the top eagle cams. (The links to those cams are near the end of the link.) Some sites just watch the nest, others have people doing reports as well, others have forums, online classes, resources…as much or as little as one wants. Like many, I favor the Pritchett site which covers Harriet and the nest on their land, along with forums, reports, classes….  Also, the Decorah, Iowa nest has been amazing and is quite popular.

Check it out — you will find it amazing and inspirational. Be careful, it is hard not to fall in love with these majestic yet deadly raptors.