A pair of Bald Eagles, discovered perched in the rain at Boone Lake, 1 Feb 2012, is shown at a nest they are building atop a high ridge overlooking the South Fork Holston River arm of the lake between Bluff City and Davis Marina in Sullivan County today (12 Feb 2012). The photo was taken by Mike Sanders. The pair flew about 1,300 yards upstream towards Bluff City where they were relocated about 45 minutes later and Sanders was able to take this photo of the pair copulating on a limb above the lake. In the photo at the left, taken by Gail Williams, the pair is shown perched in the tree where they were mating. The larger bird on the left is the female and the smaller to the right is the male. The nest site can be viewed from Reynolds Road, in the Reynolds-Droak Plantation just upstream from the Enterprise Road bridge (formerly known as Rainbow Bridge before the reservoir was impounded). The entrance to the plantation subdivision turns in off Droak Road. The birds have distinctive markings such as a very dark patch of brown behind the eye for the female and a lesser amount of brown behind the eye of the male. Such markings are typical of birds four to five years of age and possibly nesting for their first time. About an hour before this pair was found in the vicinity of the nest, another pair (the second known for Boone Lake this season) was observed from Enterprise Road just before the bridge on the Buffalo Community side. This pair had fully adult white heads and complete feathering of the primaries of the left wing which the male of the nesting pair does not have -- a missing primary in nesting male's left wing. The four flew together in sight of our field party several times but no confrontation or air challenges were observed, Before going to the mating tree to breed, the nesting pair flew long periods in close-following formations. The female would descend to the male and extend her legs and talons towards him but there was no contact. This is a breeding ritual. After mating, the male left and circled on thermals above the tree where the female remained for an extended period. He did not immediately go to the nest. While the party was in the vicinity of the nest, the female made one flight up to the nest structure and the male made two flights, both landing at the nest. They both soared for long periods above the nest and flew past it at close range several times. One of a resident pair of Red-tailed Hawks which is believed to be nesting in the vicinity of the cliffs, constantly challenged the pair and made long dives and chases after the eagles. A Sharp-shinned Hawk also challenged the air space of the eagles and, at times, both the Red-tail and Sharpie were in pursuit and diving at the eagles. An estimated 20 hours of field work over a four to five day period this past week, were invested in stakeouts, mapping and exploring for the eagle pair. One bird was seen to fly about two miles, going to a high ridge roost one evening just before dark and after sundown. There are now three (3) Bald Eagle nests active in the South Fork Holston River watershed in the region. One is on South Holston Lake at Avens Bridge, another along TN Rt. 44 and the river and the Boone Lake pair. The party checked on the Avens Bridge nest about 4:30 p.m. and found an adult eagle on the nest. The field party for today included: Wallace Coffey, Mike Sanders, Gail Williams and Carolyn Coffey. Let's go birding . . . . Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN