Three wobbly bald eagle chicks, one just hours old, jockeyed for space in a nest on Santa Cruz Island off Ventura this week.
The third downy raptor hatched April 1 at Fraser Point, on the western end of the island roughly 20 miles offshore. Decades after nearly disappearing from the Channel Islands, the eagles have made a comeback, with some of their milestones captured live via nest cameras.
Last year’s fledgling class was one of the largest recorded in the history of the recovery efforts, with more than two dozen eaglets successfully leaving island nests, said Erin Weiner, eagle biologist with the Institute for Wildlife Studies. Over the past several days, she hiked around Santa Cruz, checking on the bald eagles there.
“So far, all signs are positive,” said Weiner, also the organization’s bald eagle project lead.
Depending on when they started, some pairs continued to incubate eggs in their nests, which are typically high up in trees or on craggy hillsides. Others were already caring for chicks, the oldest hatchling a few weeks ago.
The pair at the Fraser Point nest may be one of the best known and not just because of the live camera at the spot.
“The female is kind of the local celebrity,” Weiner said. “She’s actually the first known natural hatch on the Channel Islands since the ’50s.”
Why did bald eagles disappear from the Channel Islands?
Years-long exposure to the pesticide DDT nearly wiped out the Channel Islands population in the 1960s and ’70s. The contamination resulted in eggshells becoming so thin they would break in the nests.
Though the pesticide was banned in the 1970s, its effects off the Southern California coast lingered for decades. After years of recovery efforts that included bringing young birds onto the islands and artificially incubating eggs outside the nests, a pair of eagles successfully bred naturally on Santa Cruz Island in 2006.
It was the first time in 50 years that happened on the Channel Islands. The next year, two nests successfully hatched and fledged chicks on Catalina Island, a site closer to the contaminated area. Since then, the numbers have increased, and territories have expanded.
The first chick, now known as Cruz or A49, grew up and established her own breeding territory on Santa Cruz. She has been nesting at Fraser Point for more than a decade. Weiner called her the legacy of the project.
The father of the three new eaglets hatched from a nest elsewhere on Santa Cruz Island in 2017. He’s called Andor or A14.
How do researchers track the bald eagles?
Last week, Weiner hiked from territory to territory on Santa Cruz, surveying the bald eagle nests by foot. Early in the season, she hikes into areas, looking for eagles and their big stick nests.
Later, once she knows a pair has established a nest, she monitors regularly to check for eggs and then eaglets.
The population overall seems to be doing well, Weiner said. It has been a positive trend over the last several decades.
“We are starting to see that positive trend sort of level out,” Weiner said. “While that could have a variety of causes, we think the most plausible is just that we’re hitting some sort of saturation.”
At Sauces Canyon, a pair of bald eagles had less success this year. The female laid several eggs, and they all broke, Weiner said.
She could possibly have a genetic issue that causes her to lay eggs with thin shells, the biologist said. Officials think it is likely an issue related to the eagle rather than environmental contaminants. A female previously at the spot did not have the same issue.
When will bald eagle chicks leave the nest?
The chicks typically stay around the nest about 10 weeks before they take their first flight. After they fledge, they hang around their parents’ territory for a month or two before heading off to explore.
“During that time, they shadow the adults. The adults still help feed them,” Weiner said.
By August or September, the young eagles may head to other areas of the island, and some cross the channel to the mainland.
Even though the islands are miles offshore, the public can get a bird’s-eye view of nests through the live feeds. To see them, go to iws.org/iws-chat or explore.org/livecams/bald-eagles/.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Bald eagle chicks hatch on Santa Cruz Island. Here’s how to watch live
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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