Greetings,

A few weeks ago the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) pair hanging out
at Green Lake (north end Seattle) showed signs of preparation for breeding
(i. e. pair-bond copulations). The pair consists of an adult male and a
sub-adult female (extensive brown on crown and tail, faint "osprey-stripe"
around eyes).
The male has been collecting branches and sticks and placing them in an
evergreen tree in Lower Woodland Park, across the street from the Aqua
Theater and Small Craft Center at the lake's south end. Initially the sticks
he brought in all ended up dangling vertically from the support branches he
had chosen; two weeks ago he managed to place sticks that bridged the
(large) gap and since then the structure has taken on the shape of a
platform.
Until now I did not witness the female placing nest material in this tree.
Since in every other eagle territory I have observed the female calls the
shots (she's bigger, she determines which stick is placed where, literally
every stick the male places she will place again, during incubation she
determines who sits on the eggs and when, etc.), I was not convinced that
the male's choice of nest site met with her "approval". She spent a lot of
time in trees farther west, across Aurora Avenue, in Woodland Park Zoo.
This morning, however, I saw both birds collect and place several sticks,
sitting next to each other in the nest tree. I was leading a group of
birdwatchers around the lake (free programs offered by Green Lake Park
Alliance every first and third Saturday through April, start 8 AM on the
beach near the Community Center on east shore) and we walked up into Lower
Woodland Park where we had a good view of the female bringing in a 5 to 6
foot (1.5-1.8 m) branch to the nest and spending several minutes adjusting
it.
Looks like she has agreed on this location.
There still is a good chance that the birds may not raise any young this
year. Many other nests in this area were built one year, but not productive
until the following year.
Most eagles in this area produce their egg(s) (1 or 2, exceptionally 3) the
first half of March; but new nests may be 2 or more weeks "behind schedule."
I expect we'll know by the end of March.

Cheers,
Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com