THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 16, 1996 TAG: 9604160311
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
A second active bald eagle nest has been discovered this spring, offering further proof that our handsome national symbol appears to be making a comeback after disappearing from this area 30 years ago.
A nest at Stumpy Lake Golf Course was confirmed recently by Mitchell Byrd, director emeritus of the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. Byrd flew over Virginia Beach on his annual eagle count and saw a female sitting on the nest.
Byrd also confirmed that another nest, first spotted three years ago at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, is again active.
The Stumpy Lake eagles' big stick nest is close to the top of a tall bald cypress tree near the lake, said volunteer raptor specialist Reese Lukei, who is one of Byrd's research associates. Lukei has been monitoring the birds from the ground and has since observed both male and female eagles behaving as though they are feeding young.
``We could clearly see a fish in the nest,'' Lukei said, ``but the young are still too small to stick their head above the nest.''
Lukei estimates there are at least two eaglets because the parents appear to be feeding at two different locations in the nest. Bald eagles have from one to three young, with two being average, he said.
This is at least the second try for the Stumpy Lake parents. The pair nested there briefly last year.
``They were on it last year,'' Lukei said. ``For whatever reason, they abandoned the nest. But we know they've got kids in there this year!''
Lukei also monitors the progress of the Back Bay refuge eagles, which have had productive nests for three years running. Each year the Back Bay pair has produced two youngsters.
The young stay in the nest for about 12 weeks and by the first of July, both sets should be ready to fly.
``They'll hang around for another month or two,'' Lukei said, ``and then probably take off and go south, coming back here by January.''
Since young eagles tend to return each year to the area where they were born, it's reasonable to assume that these youngsters also will nest here when they reach the breeding age of 5 years old.
``We've been seeing more eagles around here,'' Lukei said, ``but they have been immatures, probably the offspring'' of the Back Bay pair.
In contrast to the mature eagle's blackish-brown body and striking white head and tail, young eagles are all blackish-brown, blotched with white. The young often are confused with golden eagles.
The bald eagle has begun to nest again in numbers along the James, Potomac, Rappahannock and York rivers and are expanding into southeastern Virginia after poisoning by the pesticide DDT led to their demise over the past three decades.
Concentrated efforts to protect eagle habitats and monitor them for undue disturbances have contributed to the birds' success, Lukei said. Their status was downgraded from endangered to threatened about a year ago.
``One of the things it also means is that environmental conditions on Back Bay must be getting better if they are able to sustain themselves on food in the Bay,'' he added.
``My guess is that in the next couple of years we'll find nests in the North Landing River area, too,'' Lukei said. ``It's pretty exciting.'' ILLUSTRATION: THERE ARE TWO ACTIVE BALD EAGLE NESTS IN THIS AREA NOW - ONE AT
STUMPY LAKE GOLF COURSE, THE OTHER AT BACK BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE. NEXT YEAR THERE COULD BE MORE.
STEVE EARLEY photos
The Virginian-Pilot
A pair of bald eagles built their nest in a bald cypress tree at
Stumpy Lake Golf Course, said Reese Lukei, below, who has been
monitoring the birds from the ground and has seen both the male and
the female behaving as though they're feeding young.
by CNB