Bryan as such a great eye for nature… I hope he will continue posting great photos like this one! Bald Eagles can live up to 40 years, so we may see these feathered residents for some time. Bald Eagles need large trees in order to build large stick nests called eyries, so here is yet another reason to keep tall trees around town. The WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife,Edmonds Wildlife Habitat Project/Friends of Edmonds Marsh, People for Puget Sound, Edmonds Community College’s Biology program and LEAF program are currently working together to do a collaborative heron colony monitoring project in Edmonds. This project involves citizens in the Edmonds area, as well as students from ECC, to track heron occupancy and activity. Data will be shared with WDFW. The group counted 9 nests from previous years and witnessed 7 adults staging in the regular area of the marsh. This is promising for colony use this
year as it has been abandoned the last two due to regular eagle incursions. I think it is ironic that Bryan photographed these two birds.. they are definitely connected here in Edmonds. The more the Edmonds Marsh and other surrounding potential habitat is restored the better off each of these bird species will be in order to raise their young and survive along side each other. The local herons sometimes attempt to build nests at Edmonds Marina breakwater pilings due to their nests/rookery being bothered by eagle incursions. This kind of nest building activity is not ideal for the Edmonds Marina or the herons. The more we work to preserve habitat spaces in Edmonds all the better for the co-existence of all of us living here, people & wildlife.