[Tweeters] Fwd: Bald Eagle Pair Perching on the PI Globe Eagle: NEST QUEST

[Elaine Chuang via Tweeters]

Happy Christmas, all.  The nest search connected to the pair of BAEA (Bald Eagle) favoring the top of the P-I Globe continues.  Stacey, thank you for pointing us to the BAEA nest near the Magnolia/Perkins Lane shoreline.  I also have an additional one to report, thanks to Douglas M.  This is a large, well-established nest at the edge of the SW Queen Anne Greenbelt, just off Elliott Ave, one long block north of the Fuji Bakery.  It’s high up in a tall Big Leaf Maple which makes it awfully easy to see in winter.  Yesterday at about noon for at least an hour, one adult BAEA sat close to the nest (my guess it was the female by size and bill / beak depth), apparently unperturbed by the staff demonstrating outside Starbucks.  A bit more documentation has been added: 	
	https://www.flickr.com/photos/154614679@N02/albums/72177720322758176 <https://www.flickr.com/photos/154614679@N02/albums/72177720322758176>   

Turning back to the P-I Globe, today mid-Christmas morning, one BAEA was perched there, on the Left Wing (well,yes, it would have been the Right Wing if seen from the other side).  There were none at the Mt. Pleasant nest about 10 miintes later.  This SWQA Greenbelt nest is 0.94 miles from the Globe.  Stacey’s Magnolia/Perkins Lane nest is 2.7 miles away.  To recap the other known nearby nests, the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery nest is 1.9 miles from the Globe and the ones that Larry Hubbell curates near the UW and the Montlake Cut would be about 3.3 miles away (all “flying" miles).

Maybe to others as well, this is topic evokes more than a bit of symbolism: no matter how one may feel about the Bald Eagle: don’t you find yourself appreciating more or less mating for life?  And thinking back to a time when "the news was fit to print” and smiling that yesterday (what the timing!) Prez Biden officially declared Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Bald Eagle) our national bird? 

When you’re in the area, do take a safe (if you’re driving) glance at the top of the historic landmark, the Post-Iintelligencer Globe with its Art Deco eagle, and maybe one or two really magnificent ones as well.

Lois Lane  a.k.a. Elaine Chuang
Seattle
  elc at uw dot edu


From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu> on behalf of Stacey T via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2024 1:16 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Bald Eagle Pair - Perching on Eagle on PI Globe
 
Hi Melissa and Tweets,

In addition to the nest that Elaine described, there is also a known bald eagle nest along the southwest shoreline in Magnolia. The nest is on private property, but can be viewed from the road along Perkins Lane. In past years, the property owners have put up large posters with info about the nest and hatchlings. I’ve seen two eagles coming to and from the nest location often; there are good views of their comings and goings from the bluff along the south meadow in Discovery Park. I’ve seen them carrying large sticks in the direction of their nest as recently as a few weeks ago, so I imagine it’s in use now. So that’s another possibility: the Magnolia pair.

Best,
Stacey

Magnolia, Seattle
(TKO107130 at gmail)


From: Elaine Chuang <elc at uw.edu>
Subject: Bald Eagle Pair - Perching on Eagle on PI Globe
Date: December 23, 2024 at 10:52:25 PM PST
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu

Melissa kindly contacted Tweeters Admin about 5 days ago (about the same time others on social media seemed to note) regarding discovery of this iconic … well, icon-upon-icon view on the Seattle Waterfront.  The print-paper Post Intelligencer (P-I, founded in 1863) was widely beloved, and many were saddened when it shut down in 2009.  I bet I’m not the only one who'll enjoy the symbolism carried by the presence of two adult Bald Eagles (BAEA) atop the P-I's familiar Eagle-Atop-the Globe Emblem!  When Melissa let me know this afternoon that the pair was currently perched there (somehow, perched seems too thin a word for what they do), I headed over to take a look (standing at Western and 2nd Ave West).  
	Photos:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/154614679@N02/albums/72177720322758176 <https://www.flickr.com/photos/154614679@N02/albums/72177720322758176>   

After about an hour, both birds took off to the northwest.  There is a known BAEA nest on the west edge of the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery so I headed there, and about 15 minutes after the pair had departed the P-I Globe, two adult BAEA passed quite close to that nest, continuing east.  Five minutes later, an adult brought a small branch to the nest, then repeated that behavior twice more, cheered on by some crows.  So, Melissa, that’s one possibility: the Mt. Pleasant nest is 1.9 miles from the P-I Globe (flying miles).  West Point at Discovery Park = 4.6 miles.  Montlake Cut = 3.3 miles.  There could be nest sites along the Magnolia shore.  To find out which nest for sure, next time they’re at the P-I, perhaps we can station someone to signal "Eagles Aloft” and have observers stationed at these nests!  Thanks again, Melissa, for picking up and passing along something quite special, just right for the Holidays.  Best wishes to Tweets, All!

Elaine Chuang
Seattle
  elc at uw dot edu


From: ... on behalf of M. Nakamura via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2024 1:12 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu> <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
Subject: [Tweeters] Bald Eagle Pair - Perching on Eagle on PI Globe
 
My coworkers and I have been noticing a pair of adult Bald Eagles perched on top of the wings of the eagle on the P-I globe on the waterfront in Seattle.  We first noticed them on 12/16 - late morning (10 a.m.); they flew off but returned in the afternoon, 3 p.m. or so.  No shows on 12/17 (rainy) but we saw one again on Wednesday in the afternoon, and today again (12/23) at lunchtime, both birds on top of the eagle's wings.  We are curious if there are any knowledgeable birders out there who know if this pair may be living in the area right now?
We haven't been able to take any good photos (our office on lower Queen Anne on Denny isn't that close and none of us have good equipment).

Melissa N


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