Raptor nests in Chilliwack

[Deleted]

Hi, everyone.

For a number of years I have been monitoring raptor nests in Abbotsford, covering an area north of No.5 Road, west of the Vedder Canal, and south of Sumas Mtn. This is part of a program that Tom Plath of MoE asked the Central Valley Naturalists to take on in Abbotsford, back in 1993.

This spring my area of the survey has four active Bald Eagle nests and four active Red-tailed Hawk nests. Yesterday on the second round of monitoring I found a fifth active Redtail nest within that area, in a location where there was none when I checked several weeks earlier. This is very encouraging.

This year looks better, but over the last several years I have been concerned that the number of nesting Red-tailed Hawks seems to have declined noticeably, perhaps related to the significant increase in Bald Eagle nests in the area. Does anyone know if there's a relationship?

Is anyone monitoring raptor nests in Chilliwack? I have submitted records for the eagle nest along the dyke on the east side of the Vedder north of Keith Wilson Road for years, since I was told no one was keeping track on that side. However, I was told recently that there is one person who is doing extensive nest monitoring for the Wildlife Tree Stewardship (WiTS) program in Chilliwack. Is this person on this birding list?

I will be doing a square for the BC Breeding Bird Atlas that includes McGillivray Slough and adjacent areas east of the Vedder Canal, and I'd be very interested to know if anyone else is keeping track of the raptor nests in that area.

Thanks,

Stan

[Gord]

Stan, Ill keep an eye open and will certainly keep notes of what I see. Im pretty sure there's a Red-tailed Hawk nest just east of Prest Road. You can see it from the Highway on the north side.

[neepgrin]

Hi Stan, there is also an active bald eagle nest at the far end of Banford (almost at Gibson intersection). This is at least the second year that nest has been occupied that I'm aware of. Others who drive the Chilliwack farm roads may know if it has been there longer.

[neepgrin]

Sorry Stan - The location is on Banford almost to McGuire (not Gibson). Sorry for the mental lapse. Usually both eagles can be seen, as the hunter doesnt need to go far from his own field for dinner.

[Gord]

Neepgrin, I know that nest and think it might be closer to five years of use if not more. I cant remember not seeing it on my Christmas Bird Counts (been doing that route over 10 years now). Good note as I had forgotten it even when Stan asked about them.

Stan, there is a Bald Eagle nest between the Highway Bridge and Keith Wilson Rd Bridge on the east side in the big cottonwoods that border Cook's Marsh. I did see eagles around it this winter and probably will be nesting.

[Deleted]

Thanks, Linda and Gord, for the nest locations posted earlier.

Yes, Gord, I know the one you refer to in this last email. It has been active for a number of years also. However, they have built a second nest farther north in the same row of cottonwoods this year, and they are using the new one instead, while the old one sits empty. The new one is close to the north end of the row of cottonwoods, near the south tip of the golf course.

I've noted, at least in the area of Sumas Prairie that I've been monitoring, that both eagles and redtails will often have more than one nest in the territory used by a given pair, and will occasionally shift from one nest to another after using one for a few years. I think this may be related to disturbance in some cases. Also I theorize that it gives them a backup nest in case one is destroyed in the winter storms. In other cases, pairs have only one nest, and this leaves them with a crisis if it falls down.

This happened to the eagle pair that has used the same nest for years along the Sumas canal between #4 Rd and # 5 Rd, between Interprovincial Highway and Dixon. During the winter of 2006-07 part of the top of the nest tree broke off and left the nest in a rather precarious position, but they used it successfully last summer. During the winter of 2007-08 the whole tree fell down, and they have now thrown together a scanty nest in a less than ideal location in another cottonwood farther north along the canal in the same area, and are using it.

Hopefully they will be successful.

Stan

[murraybrown]

Stan, I know of three BAEA nests in the Agassiz area and also one RTHA. As far as I know they are all still active.
Is anyone monitoring this area?

Murray

[Deleted]

That's good to hear, Murray. I don't know if anyone is monitoring there. When the Abbotsford group started monitoring all of Abbotsford, I had the impression that this was already being done in some other areas farther west. I was told by someone (can't remember who) a couple of years ago that they didn't think anyone was monitoring in Chilliwack, so I kept track of the one nest that I could see from my side of the Vedder.

Recently someone from the Wildlife Tree Society (WiTS) told me he had someone in Chilliwack who was doing extensive monitoring of nest trees for WiTS, but I don't know who it is. And I doubt that anyone is monitoring in Agassiz. If you're interested or know of someone who is, let me know and I can point you to the WiTS person. WiTS is similar to what we've done all along with raptor nests, but there is more emphasis on the actual trees and it includes herons as well as raptors.

Stan

[murraybrown]

Thanks Stan, but I think I will just keep an eye on these nests and maybe locate a few others in the process.
Then if you happen to hear of someone specifically interested in this area you could let them know.

Murray

[Deleted]

That's great, Murray.

Thanks,

Stan