Bald Eagle question

[DC]

We have a pair of eagles just started building a nest about a hundred yards from my recliner. We have a beautiful view of it from our deck also. What I'm curious about is this isn't nesting season. This time of year is fledging time in this area. I know that eagles will work on their nests throughout the year but this pair has been working on this for an hour or so a day for a couple of weeks now. It just seems like odd behaviour.

[Zuma]

Perhaps their prior nest and hatchlings were destroyed.
Zuma

[DC]

Could be. I've been watching them and taking pictures. I'll post some if it starts getting interesting. I'm expecting activity to slow down until fall and winter. that's when they are supposed to nest build. One of them was out clumping around on the ground under the nest this morning. Having them here may help control the rabbits that are slowly getting established here.

[JW_Halverson]

Are they just building, or have you seen copulation?  This could be a response to a lost nest or possibly a re-mating from a killed partner.

I saw a male osprey trying to tread his mate today. She was having NONE of it! It is the fourth straight day of cold rain here and she should be keel down on eggs. The nest area had a horrendous hail storm a week and a half ago and we suspect a lost clutch.

[DC]

No copulation that I've seen for sure but the nest is right behind a clump of small branches and I did see them both jump on to the nest at the same time. One seemed to have a gleam in it's eye. I read the other day that their hormones are controlled by day length and that his testosterone would be pretty low about now. I just hope this will lead to full fledged(heh,heh) nesting this winter/spring. I've got a ringside seat

[bjrogg]

Pretty cool DC. I've seen a quite a few eagles around here but still haven't found a nest. Hope you get to keep watching them.
Bjrogg

[PaulN/KS]

We have some nesting pairs here in NE Kansas at the lakes and along the Kaw river. The Winter is when we see more eagles since they come down for "vacation". I've seen them sitting in a tree just 75 yards from my house a few times. Boy, does that rile up the local crows... 

[PEARL DRUMS]

They are like buzzards around me. Our lake will have dozens and dozens at ice out. They love winter kill gizzard shad. They nest all around the house within 6-8 miles, mostly on the river in the big cottonwoods. My buddy counted 42 of them in a 40 acre field at one time this early spring. The field floods every spring, so I'm sure they are eating dead or dying trapped fish.

[BowEd]

Eagles here more so in the winter time.Many times feeding right along the road ditch on road killed deer.Robin likes to take pictures then.A friend of mines' family of hunters place all their butchered deer carcasses out in a field to watch them.Eagles like all wild animals are opportunists.It's tough out there most times.

[bjrogg]

I just was looking over my Navy beans and saw a pair. Like Pearl said they like the big cottonwood trees. Ed I always put my carcasses from hunting and trapping out in my field. The crows find them and everything else soon find them to. One morning several years ago, I was approaching the area and wondering what was feeding on the carcasses. As I got closer saw it was a bald eagle. About twenty feet away a large hawk, another thirty feet away several seagulls. Wasn't hard to determine the pecking order. Next time I checked there was a pair of eagles. Now I put them closer to the house. Even so they are hard to get a good picture with my phone. They do have sharp eyes. Very hard to get close to.
Bjrogg

[BowEd]

 Seen a few roosting in cottonwoods while looking for the coon coon hunting.

[DC]

Here's a couple of pictures, first Jun 12 second Jun22. You can see the eagle in the middle of the second pic. It's in the first one in the same spot I think. You can see the nest starting to stick out just over that big dead branch.

[bjrogg]

Looks like he's got a eye on you DC.
Bjrogg

[JW_Halverson]

Looks like he's got a eye on you DC.
Bjrogg

He is p.o.'d at the neighbor that keeps trying to get a peek at his wife's tailfeathers.

[DC]

We had a bit of wind here the last couple of days. Nothing big, maybe 25-30 mph. The nest blew out of the tree. Could be they are crummy nest builders. Maybe last winters nest fell down too and that's why they were building so late. They're still hanging around so we'll see what happens.