Bald Eagles Raise A Family At Millerton Lake 2020

Dale Matson

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Eagle On Eggs

         We spotted this particular nest both last year and this year from the Millerton Lake Eagle Boat Tour. Last year was the first time for this new nest location but nothing came of the nest last year. No eggs were laid. This year however the same adult pair made good use of the nest.

         I decided to follow the nest over the ensuing months which required locating the nest from above. Because of Covid 19 no boats were allowed on Millerton Lake for most of the developmental season. It required a climb on the San Joaquin River Trail followed by a descent toward the lake below Pincushion Mountain. In all, I made about 20 trips from mid-January to July. I think of the literally thousands of hikers who passed by this nest on the river trail above who never knew that it was there.

         I found a location about 450 meters above the nest where I could photograph the birds. They were very much aware when I was there. They have eagle eyes. I had a Sony 200-600 mm super-telephoto lens on my Sony A7R4. I also had a 1.4X teleconverter which gave me additional magnification, 1,200mm shots when cropped. The morning reflection off the water made it difficult to focus.

Each session was a one hour climb, one hour of photography and a one hour descent. Sharon accompanied me on most of the trips and acted as a spotter. She used 12X Canon image stabilized binoculars. She was often able to give me lead time to prepare to focus on the nest when an adult was on the way with food for the nestlings. My son and his partner went with us once also.

         Today was my final climb to the nest. I did not expect to see any birds still on the nest since they probably fledged the beginning of July. I waited for about a half hour but there was no activity in or near the nest. We did have an opportunity to view the nestlings from a boat once in late June after the boat restrictions on the lake were lifted.

         The docent on the Millerton Lake Eagle Boat tour (Mike Smith) wisely said, “Eagles will break your heart”. Unfortunately, this was the case with the other eagles we attempted to follow. However, these eagles did not break our heart. What a joy it is at age 75 to still be able to get to the private places where these eagles build their nests. The months passed too quickly! 

  

  

  

From A Boat

July 7