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Bald eagle's nest

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Photo by KarenL
Published on Project Noah
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35.6151, -87.0353

Field Notes

Description:

The bald eagle's nest is the largest of any bird in North America; it is used repeatedly over many years and with new material added each year may eventually be as large as 13 ft deep, 8.2 ft across and weigh 1 metric ton; one nest in Florida was found to be 20 ft deep, 9.5 ft across, and to weigh 3 tons. This nest is on record as the largest tree nest ever known. The nest is built out of branches, usually in large trees near water.

Habitat:

Tennessee Wildlife Authority land - at the top of a densely wooded hill between a river & a man made lake.

Notes:

We spotted this nest from afar 2 weeks ago. At that time we were able to make out a bird on the nest & one on a tree close by through binoculars. We hiked up today & found this massive nest - we estimate about 7' x 5' x 6' deep. We heard the eagles close by but weren't able to spot them. We plan to return in a few weeks in the hope of seeing them once the female is incubating eggs.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (10)

More photos added: we returned to the area yesterday & managed to spot the male in the tree over the nest & get a few shots from a distance. Earlier in the day we spotted him circling overhead & I was able to get a single shot, unfortunately not a great one as I was shooting through the tree canopy.
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/8622265 Karen,can you take care of this spotting?
I don't think too many people know about this which is why I didn't put a more exact location. Someone has built a makeshift hide there so next time we plan to bring lunch & spend all day there if necessary to see the eagles!
I would say about 50' - maybe higher.
how many feet above ground was it?
It is enormous Emma! The photos don't really do it justice!

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