Appreciate Nesting Bald Eagles from a Distance

Steve Blight | Jul 01, 2015

For many people who use our lakes and rivers, seeing a Bald Eagle can be the thrill of a lifetime. However, too much disturbance to nesting eagles can have a negative impact on nest success. Recently a reader reported a situation where he observed a boater approach to within 15 feet of a tree with nesting Bald Eagles on Sharbot Lake and the birds seemed to show signs of distress. While most people know that it is illegal to destroy or take an eagle’s nest, young or the eggs, people may not know that approaching too close to a nest can cause the birds stress. The last thing any Bald Eagle lover would want is to unintentionally cause a nest to fail or to produce fewer young. Fortunately, there are precautions that people can do to limit the amount of stress they cause to nesting eagles (and other raptors as well, including Osprey). The United States Fish and Wildlife Service recommends to avoid disturbing nesting birds, active nest sites not be approached any closer than a distance of 330 feet, or about 100 meters. Binoculars are a great way to have a close look at nesting birds without disturbing them. Disturbance is defined as any activity that changes an eagle’s behavior. For example, if an eagle stops preening to study you then you have disturbed the eagle and you are too close.

Bald Eagles are being seen more frequently on our lakes and rivers, and I think we all want to do our part to make sure their nesting efforts are successful, because nesting success means more Bald Eagles for us all to appreciate…from a distance!