Eagle Watch: 20 Years on Pender...and 60 Other Islands

-by Dave Manning

If you do not thrill upon seeing a Bald Eagle, you are missing that moment. It flies, perches and talks for your pleasure, if you wish to see it that way. It, of course, doesn’t see it in any way—it’s just being itself.

I call the project Eagle Watch. For twenty years I’ve been pursuing this iconic bird across the Salish Sea islands, with a particular eye to locating their nests. Beginning on the two islands of Pender, then expanding the search from south to north—from D’Arcy to Quadra—I’ve tramped and boated, driven by my curiosity to find new nests, sometimes exhausting myself to near collapse! In that effort, I’ve located more than 225 Bald Eagle nests. In recent years I’ve not had the energy I formerly had, and so my range of exploration has been mainly focused on Pender Island and any nest or bird or I can spot from a ferry.

Their huge nests are usually located near the ocean, their main food source, occupying some of the best real estate on our coast. But they don’t hold title to their nesting habitats—although humans do. They must share landscapes with us, and we often are given preference over Eagles, or most other wildlife species for that matter. I’m not a “people first” supporter. For more than eight decades I’ve been wandering North America, encountering numerous species in a variety of environments. Wherever I’ve been, Nature usually is forced to defer to humans.

On North Pender Island, we’ve been changing that pattern for Bald Eagles and some other birds. Beginning in 2007, and updated in 2025-26, our Local Trust Committee of Islands Trust has established protective zones around Eagle nests, as well as Osprey, Peregrine Falcon and Great Blue Heron, limiting certain disruptive activities, particularly during the breeding season. Additionally, the BC Wildlife Act protects Eagle nests year-round. You can incur a $50,000 fine for destroying a Bald Eagle nest! Some of us recognize that Bald Eagles have rights—the right to exist, to survive and to carry on their lives.

Importance of Big Trees

Bald Eagle nest trees are a habitat at risk on Salish Sea islands. Eagles usually build their large nests in mature Douglas-fir trees (200-400 years old), mostly near the coast, that have sturdy branches to support such nests. Not just any big tree will do—limbs must have just the right configuration to support a large nest. And the Eagles are continually adding materials to their nests, making them heavier and bigger. The largest known nest was in Florida, 10 feet wide and 20 feet deep and weighing 3 tons!

Also important are nearby trees, live or dead: 1) for young eaglets to make their first flights to (after over 2 ½ months in the nest, they are anxious to leave!), 2) a perch for parents to observe their chicks growing up and protect them from predators, 3) for parents to watch for prey in the surrounding waters, and 4) as a buffer to protect nests and nest trees from wind destruction.

Loss of Big Trees

Unfortunately we’re losing these large Douglas-fir trees. 1) They die. 2) Large nests can eventually break the supporting branches. 3) People cut them down for safety reasons, for better views and for land development. During my 20 years of monitoring nests on Pender Island, I’ve known at least 36 Bald Eagle nests to have collapsed, sometimes with a chick still in it! In many of these trees, there were no remaining viable branches to support a new nest. The Eagles had to find another suitable tree, hopefully in the same territory. So you can see how important it is that we protect big trees, perch trees and even younger trees along our coast. In the decades to come will there continue to be suitable trees in which Eagles can build a nest? If not, what will they do?

Bald Eagles are faithful to their territories, which usually consist of 1 km of shoreline. They know the surrounding habitat and where food can be found and are not interested in leaving their established home grounds. On Pender, even if a pair could locate another nest tree out of their territory, it likely would be in the territory of another pair of Eagles who would fiercely repel intruders. Fierce battles can occur, resulting in an Eagle being killed or seriously injured.

To my knowledge all Pender coastline territories are occupied so there is no wiggle room for a new pair of Eagles to move in. They will nest inland if necessary but that is not their preference. I know of at least 3 inland territories.

Some Bald Eagles appear relatively tolerant of human activity and will nest in residential areas, but only if suitable nesting and perching trees exist. For example, on Pender Island in Magic Lake Estates, with 1200 half acre lots, there are 3 Bald Eagle nests that I’m aware of. Of course, we don’t know how Eagles might be stressed when attempting to live and nest near humans. Are they really comfortable with human activity near their nests and in their territories? Could there be less nesting? Could there be reduced egg laying and quality? What about chick development? If we could only ask an Eagle these questions! Many nests located on Pender that are in heavily concentrated human areas have been there for years, constructed before there were so many humans about. As mentioned before, there is usually nowhere else for Eagles to go once they’ve established a territory. They must do the best they can with what they have.

We do know that human activity does affect Bald Eagles. Recently on Pender, 2 nests were abandoned when construction of homes began nearby. And does a privately owned helicopter coming and going near one of those nests have some negative effect? Will they ever return to lay eggs in those nests?  

20 Years of Nests on Pender Island

From 2005 - 2025:

Known Active Territories = 23

Single Eaglets Fledged = 67 

Twins Fledged = 15 

Triplets Fledged = 0 

There could be other unknown active territories. It is likely that more Eaglets did fledge during the past 20 years than the number noted above since I was not able to check all nests each breeding season.

Research has shown that approximately 10% of Eaglets that fledge survive 4-5 years to adulthood, when they get that distinctive white head and tail. Therefore, of the known fledglings over the past 20 years on Pender, at least 97, only about 10 have or will make it to breeding age. Not particularly good odds!

During the 2025 breeding season, there were 9 Eagle pairs who did not lay eggs in their nests. Eagles will occasionally skip a year in “child rearing” but in my experience it was unusual for this many nests to be inactive. Two of these were due to human encroachment, as mentioned above. I’m looking forward to seeing how many pairs will lay eggs in the 2026 breeding season.

Be a Nest Monitor

I am putting out the call for more nest monitors. Are you interested? I can assign you a nest and you only need visit your nest 2 or 3 times during each breeding season. Of course you can visit it as many times as you like. I’m mainly interested in how many chicks fledge from each nest. I’m also looking for someone to take over my position as Coordinator for Eagle Watch.

Tree Protection is Critical

To conclude, if we wish to see Bald Eagles continuing to nest around our island for decades to come, it is important to protect nest and perch trees, and some younger trees that may eventually—forty, fifty or more years down the road—become suitable for Eagle nests. Tree protection is essential, not only for Eagles but for the numerous other plant and animal species that also utilize them, including us. After all, they produce the very oxygen we breathe!