Update regarding premises: this used to be home to The Eagle Creek Saloon, one of our favorite spots to stop in for a burger, sadly it closed during the pandemic and is now an abandoned building and lot. Please respect the property and don't wander past the fence line
This might be a fun series for families and the cache is accessible to all.
About Me:
Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucophalus) are present year-round throughout most parts of Washington with the highest densities in the Puget Sound region. Individuals occur in the Puget Sound basin as migrants, winter residents and members of the breeding population. Bald eagles are opportunistic foragers that feed most frequently on fish and waterfowl, and as both predators and kleptoparasites (steels from others), possess a variety of hunting behaviors, consuming live fish and birds as well as scavenging upon dead fish, birds and mammals.
Breeding bald eagles require large trees near open water in locations that experience relatively low levels of human activity. While nests are most numerous near marine shorelines, many are also found on shores of lakes, reservoirs, and rivers of Washington. The density of nesting eagles depends on many factors that affect habitat quality including prey populations, degree of human disturbance, and the availability of nest and perch trees.
Breeding pairs initiate nesting activities in January or February and disperse by late summer when many migrate north to coastal British Columbia and southeast Alaska for several weeks to take advantage of food supplies associated with late summer and early fall salmon runs.
Washington’s wintering eagles begin to arrive in October from northern breeding territories in Alaska and Canada. Most adults arrive in November and December and many juveniles arrive in January. Winter ranges are considerably larger and more variable than breeding ranges.
Threats to bald eagles include habitat degradation and reductions in prey such as salmonids in Puget Sound and its surrounding watershed. Alteration of upland nesting habitat from natural events (e.g., windstorms) or human-related factors (e.g., timber harvest, development) that results in either mortality or reduced availability of nest trees or suitable territories can reduce the number of occupied nesting territories. Because average life expectancy of nests can be shorter than that of breeding birds, bald eagles often need trees of similar stature located nearby to serve as replacement nest trees if a nesting territory is to persist at the site.
Conservation Status
Bald eagles in Washington were listed as Threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1978. The widespread use of DDT between the 1940s and 1970s is widely viewed as the main cause of the decline of bald eagles in Washington and the other 48 states, though direct extirpation and habitat alteration are also known causes. In response to rebounding populations, the bald eagle was removed from protection under the ESA in 2007 (USFWS 2007a). The bald eagle is still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (USFWS 2007b). At the state level, bald eagles were down-listed to Sensitive status by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Habitat protection is still authorized in Washington by the Bald Eagle Protection Law of 1984 (RCW 77.12.655), which requires the establishment and enforcement of rules for buffer zones around bald eagle nest and roost sites. Habitat is protected through bald eagle management plans approved by WDFW. Between1986 and 2005, over 2,900 bald eagle plans were developed between WDFW and various landowner entities for activities on private, state, and municipal lands in Washington.