Comments on: The Eagle Project

By: Barbara Rybas

Barbara Rybas — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 22:37:13 +0000

We have eagles as well & I would also like to have something manufactured for the eagles to land on and nest. I thought of having a nest built out of metal.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:26:51 +0000

http://www.treescapes.com/case_specimanfabricatedtrees2.html

There are some crazy gaudy fake indoor trees, but also some great outdoor ones as well. On this particular page there is even one that looks like a dead tree without branches.

Better than the cell phone concealment tree towers though.

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:21:54 +0000

I suggest asking one of the raptor keepers at the zoo. they just updated the eagle enclosure and I am pretty sure that the “tree” their nest is in isn’t actually real wood but the birds perch there.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:30:19 +0000

Joseph: That is awesome.

Mike: I’m actually not trying to build a nest, or even a place for them to nest. Just a perch. From what I’ve read, the chances of an eagle nesting in a human-built nest are in the neighborhood of 20%… and besides, the nests can get really heavy. I’m just looking to build a place for them to chill for a few minutes between long flights or meals.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:43:12 +0000

Had a chance to speak with my colleague over here on the east coast about this idea. There are several life history behaviors going against you here: 1) bald eagles generally use the same nest throughout their lifespan – unless they’ve been displaced – and in that case they rebuild the nest at or near the site 2) they’re very sensitive to human disturbance and therefore nest away from human activity 3) they generally nest in a natural setting (tree) and not on platforms or similar arrangements. She said it was very unlikely that a nesting pair would choose a manmade platform. That said, she suggested contacting someone from the Pacific Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get more info.

She also suggested looking into building an osprey platform. Osprey will build nests on nearly any platform or wherever they can find a suitable place. I’ve seen them build nests on highway signs here in the Chesapeake region. And to be honest, despite the enticement of having a bald eagle nest, ospreys are actually pretty damn cool birds – much better hunters. Here’s a link to a site with plans: http://www.cumauriceriver.org/pages/npmats.html

Feel free to contact me if you need more info.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:14:00 +0000

I was just thinking of a camera next to a perch with the fabulous natural background to get high quality close up shots of the Eagles. Have a look at this site showing Kingfisher shots: http://www.charliehamiltonjames.com/GalleryMain.asp?GalleryID=26216&AKey=RSHKR8D4

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:53:08 +0000

Mike – I’m the one who initially sent you the Fish and Wildlife article about building nests. Here in the Chesapeake Bay region, we’ve seen the bald eagle rebound to numbers no one ever expected. I’ll try to contact one of my Fish and Wildlife colleagues who manages a couple of the National Wildlife Refuges to see what advice they have. These nests can get massive – up to 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Also, the nests can weigh as much as 2 tons after a couple of years of use, so be thinking about a material that will support that amount of weight.

I agree with one of the comments above – if you’re successful in getting an eagle to nest, a webcam would be very fun. Here’s an example of one at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html).

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 06:15:45 +0000

OR you could use 30,000 chopsticks: http://inhabitat.com/30000-used-chopsticks-transformed-into-a-fallen-tree-in-shanghai/

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:40:37 +0000

A ship’s look out mast if you have ahead for heights!

By: John B

John B — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:59:55 +0000

I hadn’t even thought of a flagpole. Those fiberglass ones look good, or you could just go with metal. I guess it depends on how tall you want it to be.

I say you get one of those, paint it brown, and tie some branches to the top like in that link of Joseph’s above.

FWIW When I was younger I stuck a flagpole into the fencepole of a chain-link fence, so if you have one of those around somewhere, (on your cliff? I doubt it but you never know), you could do that and you might be able to avoid pouring a concrete foundation for it.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:27:52 +0000

Chris: Yep, definitely need camera capabilities. John B: Yeah, the utility poles aren't very attractive and they are going to be pretty heavy too. One thing I recently found is these fiberglass flagpoles. I can get one that is 40 feet tall and it's only 120 pounds. Pretty light. Also withstands 100mph winds with allegedly no sway. I'm wondering if I could dress it up somehow.

By: John B

John B — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:25:03 +0000

I took a look at Joseph’s first link yesterday and from a distance those things look great, although the article says they’re basically telephone poles with branches tied to the top.

If you don’t want a telephone pole in your face, (which I totally understand), your next best bet might be some sort of high-tech pole, otherwise I’m guessing that you’ll end up with guy wires all over the place.

I like the totem pole idea, or maybe you could arrange another dead tree. How big of a tree could you buy, and have planted, then kill after a year or two?

By: Joseph

Joseph — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:50:27 +0000

You could use a pole designed for wind turbines:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wind+tower+kit&x=0&y=0

Pretty cheap but needs guy wires and is kinda ugly.

A tapered monopole would be better, then get an metal fabricator to to make and attach branches. The poles alone run around $4-5k though.

http://www.skystreamenergy.com/skystream-info/productphotos.php

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:18:32 +0000

You could have live webcam to watch the birds and website?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:11:55 +0000

hi Mike, You could incorporate remote camera facilities into the pole with the aim of getting some fabulous close up shots. Would be great with the natural background across the water and distant hills. Or what about a hide on a pole to allow you to film / photograph the birds up close? You could put roadkill out for them to fed on.