February was an amazing month for the eagle watchers of Oakland County and across much of Southeast Michigan. Seeing a bald eagle is no longer a rare occurrence as it was back when they teetered on the brink of extinction in the late 20^th century. Michigan had only four nesting pairs of eagles in the early 1970s so seeing one was a very rare event. Eagle populations had plummeted due to the use of habitat loss and hunting and pesticides, such as DDT. It’s a different world now for these magnificent raptors that recovered under protection from both the Endangered Species and Threatened Species Act in 2007 and the banning of DDT in 1972. They remain federally protected under both the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

With our fish-rich lakes and rather good habitats, it is no longer a rare happening to see a bald eagle in Oakland County. There are active nests in several locations including Independence Oaks County Park. I now refer to that nest as “my nest” after first noticing it two years ago and sharing information with the park staff and Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Thankfully a small lake makes it impossible for humans to approach the nest, a behavior that would be disruptive and detrimental to the eagles and their nesting success. That nest affords excellent viewing opportunities from a dock at the park, but you will need binoculars or a telephoto lens. At times, an eagle may fly overhead. Flying a drone to an eagle’s nest is illegal and is an offense that can be prosecuted federally.

If eagles are disturbed during the nest-building season, they might abandon the nest altogether. A prolonged absence of the adult from the nest greatly decreases the chance of nesting success. Incubation is a critical time and all the visual evidence of observations from about a quarter-mile away tells me incubation is underway. On the last blustery cold day, I noticed both eagles in the nest. So, I infer they are currently incubating their eggs.

Eagles will defend their nests from both aerial and tree-climbing predators. However, if constant close-up human presence disturbs the natural incubation, foraging and feeding schedule the newly hatched chicks may become malnourished, which decreases their chances of survival. Even a sudden loud noise near the nest can be detrimental and even deadly if a chick is startled and jumps from the nest before they can fly.

I will emphasize again that these eagles constructed their nest in an excellent location that is free of human intrusion with a water barrier. They are only about five miles from my house, so I look at myself as both an observer and guardian and do a casual observation several times a week from the dock or a few dozen yards from the parking lot. When I last stopped by, I was pleased to capture a good photo of the female eagle perched across from a wooded bluff.

There are many ways that even well-meaning humans can disturb eagle nesting. I was lucky a few weeks ago and captured images of them mating in a tree that was closer to me than the nest. My most recent observations from the dock suggest strongly they are already incubating their eggs and everything is going well; as the eagles follow nature’s way.  

I’m out at the park frequently and, on more than a few occasions, I’ve had park visitors ask me what I am looking at when they see me on the dock with a camera and binoculars in “observation mode.” Their excitement factor is unmistakable when they find out I’m watching eagles and a small crowd of three people gather with questions when I was photographing the eagles mating repeatedly, an act that lasts about 10 seconds.

Of note, bald eagle nests are very large structures. They often weigh more than 1,000 pounds and average in size from 4 to 6 feet in diameter and are about 3 feet deep. In the past few days, I’ve been watching them “fine-tune” the nest from my distant observation perch, which has included witnessing the eagles flying to the nest with additional sticks to reinforce the nest and grasses to line its interior.

The nest at Independence Oaks is an excellent location with the lake preventing human observers who might wish to approach more closely unable to do so. If the nest was in an easily accessible area, I would not be sharing any information, but this one is highly visible (with binoculars) from the dock. Their nest is near the top of an old conifer tree and is visible without binoculars. It’s critical to avoid disturbances during this nesting period. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which was enacted in 1940 and has been amended several times, spells out the penalties and fines for disturbing eagles. 

I look forward to when the chicks will hatch. That’s when the excitement accelerates as the eagles fly to the nest with fish in their talons and little heads pop up over the rim of the nest at feeding time. It takes almost three months from hatching before they fledge and can fly. These images were captured last year by Joan Bonin with her powerful telephoto lens. She’s been an avid eagle watcher for several years at Independence Oaks and at Stony Creek Metropark. She also shared these thoughts with me.

“The population of bald eagles throughout the United States bottomed out in the 1940s, with the exception of Alaska which maintained a healthy population. Hunting, habitat loss and the use of DDT, a popular insecticidal agent used on crops were responsible for their decline. Runoff into our waterways polluted our rivers and lakes and bald eagles, as well as other fishing birds ingested the DDT through the fish they ate. The result was paper-thin egg shells which readily broke. Populations dipped and by 1961, the population of bald eagles in Michigan was reduced to 52 breeding pairs, 417 pairs across the lower 48 states. Because of the banning of DDT in 1969 in Michigan. The bald eagle was listed as endangered in 1978.”

“The population rebounded through the banning of DDT and conservation programs. In 2023, it was estimated that the state of Michigan has approximately 900 breeding pairs. It is a success story to be told and retold for generations to come. You can save the environment, one species at a time. The bald eagle remains protected. To our knowledge, this is the second year for the Independence Oaks bald eagle pair.”

“How big are the eagles?” That is one of the most common questions I hear when someone realizes I am looking at the nest. The wing span of eagles varies from about 5 1/2 to 8 feet; clearly making our National Emblem, the American Bald Eagle the largest bird to nest in Oakland County. Go for a walk at Independence Oaks North and the words of John Muir may come into mind, “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” At Independence North, it might be eagles.

Jonathan Schechter is a naturalist, eagle watcher and nature education writer for Oakland County Government and blogs about nature’s way on the Wilder Side of Oakland County.

Follow along with Oakland County on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube using #OaklandCounty, or visit our website for news and events year-round.