Elizabeth and Tweeters:

Sounds like nest building activity to me. I have seen eagles bump into and
break off branches that they either successfully hold onto while still in
the air, or subsequently retrieve from the ground or water. This matches
your description pretty well. At times, these branches have clearly been
heavy enough to really weigh the birds down as they try get them up to the
nest site. I've seen this over the past month in the Stillaguamish, Skagit,
and over at the fill in Seattle.

Mary Bond, Seattle



Subject: Broadmoor Eagle in trouble?

Date: Sat Nov 23 2013 13:15 pm

From: lizedge AT mac.com

Tweets,

Late yesterday afternoon (5:00ish) on Foster Island in the Washington Park
Arboretum, we saw one of the Broadmoor eagle pair seeming to have trouble
flying. He/she flew from tree to tree, seeming to bump into and thereby
breaking a couple of branches. It then flew over to the bank of cattails,
settling on the shore. After a while of sitting there, he/she splashed in
the water, hopped along the shore, didn't seem to be catching anything. At
some point the mate flew to a nearby light standard on the bridge.
Eventually he/she lifted off the shore and seemed to have a hard time flying
as it barely cleared the bridge railing. We gasped as it seemed he/she flew
onto the road (which we couldn't see), but know that no car hit it as none
stopped as they whizzed by. We didn't see the eagle come out on the other
side of the bridge, or anywhere thereafter.

So, I wonder if anyone has spotted anything unusual since, or better yet, if
anyone has seen both eagles looking fit.

Elizabeth Lowe Edgerton