Have just returned from a round trip over the 520 Bridge. One of the eagles was in a tree in The Arboretum, well west of the bridge, in a spot I have never noticed either of them before today. It was near the very top branch of a deciduous tree, above the inlet where the canoes are often seen on a sunny day. I will have to be observant now when I fail to see Ethel or Edgar on the bridge or upon one of the fountains and remember to look in the trees by The Arboretum. I couldn't tell which of the pair I saw today.....my guess would be Ethel as this appeared a fairly small eagle, but it is difficult to gauge from my vantage point. I hope to see my friends again Friday morning.

Eagles fishing

This morning I saw Ethel and Ernest swooping into the shallows off of the Arboretum by Madison Park, and just as I drew even with them Ernest came out with a large salmon in his talons. The two flew into the thickets of the Arboretum, most likely for a gourmet breakfast of sockeye or coho salmon. Bon appetite, my feathered friends.

On my round trip over 520 this morning I saw a pair of ospreys on mid-span light standards, a blue heron on the north fountain, Canada geese flying overhead, an entire convocation of pigeons on a signpost over the Arboretum, and too many glaucous seagulls to count. But no bald eagles. It is a beautiful day in the northwest. Our snow has nearly disappeared, the backyard snowman has been reduced to a torso. The weather people say we are going to see 60 degrees and a week of warm sunshine the end of January into early February. After the wintry weather we have experienced recently that is welcome news indeed.

Eaglet Info

I've done some research and found that in the Puget Sound region the eagle pair mates in March, and about 10 days later the female lays the first egg in the nest. A second egg follows a few days later, and occasionally a 3rd. During the 35 days of incubation the female remains on the nest almost constantly. During this time the male is often seen bringing conifer boughs to the nest, but ornithologists are unsure why he does so. The female is so reluctant to leave the nest unprotected that she may go several days without eating. Only occasionally will the male take over sitting on the eggs. When the eggs hatch it is typical that only one of the eaglets survives, especially if the first hatched is female. Female eaglets tend to be much larger than males and more aggressive. Later, however, adult males are usually a pound or two heavier than females. The babies stay in the nest for about 20 weeks, and by the time the eaglet fledges it is typically a pound heavier than the male parent. This excess weight is lost in the first several weeks on its own.
I expect to see Ethel disappear sometime in March to sit on her nest, now, and will not worry about her. The literature says, however, that eagles live as long as 30 years and do not mate every year. So Ethel and Ernest, being new mates, might even sit this year out from raising a family. We'll see.

Two trips across the bridge today, and rather quiet in way of eagle sightings. On my first westbound tripEthel was perched on the favored light standard just west of the west high rise.....the light standard upon which she and Eddie held court most often over the last several years. The light standard upon which she patiently awaited his return last August.....in what came to be a sweetly sad, futile effort. She was in the exact same spot later this afternoon, again on my westbound commute. No sightings on either return. I plan to do some research on the nesting habits of bald eagles.....wondering when this pair will begin the process of welcoming new eaglets. All of us who take joy in our resident pair feel a gratitude that Ernest was apparently willing to follow Ethel back to her home nest. What a prince.

After an icy morning a spectacularly beautiful day today. Blue sky and bright sun, as gradually our deep snow continues to melt away. The snowman in the back yard lost his carrot nose this afternoon.....I plan to re-instate it right away. Have just returned from a round trip across the bridge. Ernest was sitting on the north fountain on my way over but upon my return I saw nothing but cheeky seagulls taking advantage of the absence of eagle predators to claim the favored light standards as perches. Tomorrow I will make two trips over 520, will report my sightings then.

The Seattle area has been hit pretty hard all week with more snow and ice, which has kept me from going over the 520 Bridge for the last few days. It may be Monday before I go again. I miss seeing my eagle friends, and hope they have fared well in our icy weather. The arboretum, where they have their nest, froze. But Lake Washington is too vast to freeze during our typically short cold snaps, so Ethel and Ernest would have had no problem catching themselves some salmon dinners.

Seattle immediately after a snowstorm is a beautiful winter scape. I took our 20 year old Toyota All Trac (that homely little red car takes to snow and ice like a silver fox....), affixed the Transponder for the bridge toll to the windshield, and took off on our frozen, still unplowed streets. The 520 Bridge, however, had been plowed and sanded and was in excellent shape, and the going was a breeze. And there, west of the western high rise, were my friends. Ethel was perched on the same pole she and Eddie always favored, and directly across the bridge was Ernest. I exited 520 and drove through the Arboretum to Starbucks. The entire area was smothered in fluffy whiteness. And after a reasonable read-through of today's NY Times I headed back to the Eastside. By then Ethel had flown off for a bit of fishing, most likely, and Ernest remained on the light standard, holding court.

Here I am with my new blog on the 520 eagles only to learn that the bridge will close down to traffic tonight through Monday morning. I will not be able to report, but I cannot help but be happy for Ethel and Ernest during these now frequent shutdowns of the bridge during construction. Life on the 520 light standards, let alone upon the railing from which Eddie made his fateful takeoff in August, must be blissful during these periods without cars, trucks.....or Metro buses. I am looking forward to Monday when the bridge re-opens, however. I plan to make my way over to the Madison Park Starbucks that morning, and hopefully spot my favorite feathered friends again.

January, 2012

Every time I travel across the 520 Bridge from Clyde Hill to Seattle my trip is more than worth the brand new tolls if I see one of our resident 520 Bridge Eagles. A little background. A pair of eagles, with a nest in the UW Arboretum just southwest of the 520 Bridge has held court on the fountains and several light standards on the western end of the bridge. For several years motorists were delighted by Eddie and Ethel, the stalwart pair, who blithely ignored the zooming traffic passing just below them and made their living on the salmon swimming in Lake Washington below. On August 2, 2011, perhaps overfed with a recent gorging on a delicious Canada goose or coho salmon, Eddie was perched on the railing of the bridge, only a matter of a foot or two of passing traffic. Unfortunately he took off just as a Metro Bus was passing by, and collided with the windshield of the bus. 520 commuters and all who loved Eddie and Ethel were devastated. Now it is said that eagles mate for life. And Ethel, unable to tune into news radio, or local television news, nor to read the Seattle Times waited patiently for Eddie to return. Day after day she sat atop their favorite light standard above the bridge.....and watched. After a week or so, however, Ethel disappeared. Nobody saw an eagle on the bridge for the next two months. And then.......in mid October, what did commuters see, but Ethel returned to her command post with a HUGE new mate. They have been there ever since. We have named him Ernest, and this blog will be a record of my trips across the 520 Bridge, my sightings of these magnificent birds, and their activities.