[Bristol-Birds] Bald Eagles adding material to South Holston Lake nest

From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:10:44 -0500






















 This digiscope photo of a pair of Bald Eagles at their recently-constructed
 nest on South Holston Lake, was taken today (Sat. 21 Jan 2012) by Mike
 Sanders.  The birds were found at the nest about 1:30 p.m.

 This may be the fifth year they have nested at this site but birders have 
 only been able to see the nest on a regular basis since 2009 -- about four
 years.

 The pair has been successful fledging young each year except last year
 when a strong, late-summer storm, blew the nest from the tree and two 
 nestlings will killed.  They were found dead under the nest tree amongst 
 most of the nest material.

 This location is just upstream from Avens Bridge at river mile 67.5
 in Washington County, Virginia.

 It is visible near the top of a White Pine which stands on a small knoll
 along the lakeshore.  The nest is about 6 to 8 feet in diameter and is
 an estimated 50 feet above the ground.  It has a southwest aspect.

 At present, the nest is about 250 feet above the lake level as compared
 to previous years when it was in a White Pine tree about 650 feet above 
 the lake.  

 While we were at the nest about 1:45 p.m., the female perched
 on a limb just a few feet from the nest.  The mate was near the
 water's edge a few hundred feet away.  He then flew up to a limb near
 her and made several apparent mating displays by spreading his wings
 and tail and turning on the perch.  He soon flew up into the nest, carrying
 what appeared to be a stick with his feet.  He then worked for several
 minutes arranging the nest material.  She soon flew well off up the lake
 out of sight but returned to work on the nest herself.  We did not
 notice any material she may have carried in because she arrived quickly
 and caught us off guard.  

The nest is on "investment" property owned by Washington
County Partners LLC of Asheville, NC who purchased the
tract 13 May 2008 from Olin Wooten of Georgia.  The 
nest is in a forest stand of about 1,879 acres.  The cove the
nest is above is known locally as "Browns Bottom" and was
sold to Wooten by Jane Brown of Washington County.  It 
was land she received from her father, David K. Brown.  It
is believed to have been in the Brown family since the late 
1800s.  A sign, just a few yards from the nest, apparently
advertises the property for sale.

Let's go birding . . . .

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN

[Bristol-Birds] Bald Eagles adding material to South Holston Lake nest

Other related posts: