Bald Eagle
One of the adult Bald Eagle pair that has nested in Lower bay since 2002, with its 2019 chick.
It was in 2002, a few days after ice-out, that Ed Poliquin first spotted the pair of Bald Eagles in Lower Bay. He called Inland Fish & Wildlife to report the sighting, but Maine’s biologist explained that there hadn’t been eagles in the area for a hundred years. He was dubious, but agreed to fly over the watershed and check it out. A few days later the biologist called back apologetically: not only had he seen Kezar’s birds and their nest, but he also documented four other pairs nesting on lakes in Oxford County. After decades of population decline, primarily from the impacts of DDT, Maine’s Bald Eagles were rebounding.
While Kezar’s pair did not raise chicks successfully at their initial nesting site, a few years later, they moved to a larger tree on the eastern shore of Lower Bay. Since that time, they have raised one or two chicks each year.
Bald eagle nests can be quite visible, as they are very large and often built close to shorelines. The birds, which can live for 15-30 years, usually mate for life, reusing and enlarging the same nest each year. Constructed with big sticks, their nests can weigh over 1000 pounds!
Bald Eagles lay eggs in early April, with hatchlings appearing by early June. The young fledge towards the middle of July, and stay with their parents until late fall. It is exciting to watch the adults teaching the young how to catch fish in the late summer and fall.
While the young are as big as the adults when they fledge, they are mottled brown in color and have occasionally been mistaken for Golden Eagles. It takes 4-5 years for bald eagles to attain their full breeding plumage, with their signature white head and tail, at which point they are ready to find a new territory and breed. Many Maine lakes have more than one breeding pair, and Maine’s Eagle biologist suggests that Kezar could possibly support an additional pair.
As the eagle population soars (Maine now has over 750 nesting pairs), there is increased pressure on their prey. While their predominant food source is fish, bald eagles are opportunistic feeders and will eat ducks, loons, small mammals, and carrion. Throughout our summer days, here on Kezar, loon alarm-calls echo down the lake. If you hear this warning, look up: there is a good chance the call is sounding the alert of an eagle flyover. The tough balance between predator and prey was highlighted in the late fall of 2019 when two of Kezar’s five loon chicks, which were stranded in remnant open water as the lake froze over were killed by eagles.
While rebounding, Maine’s bald eagles continue to face threats as they are highly vulnerable to lead poisoning. While lead poisoning of loons results from their ingesting lead-based fishing tackle, eagles are more impacted by lead-based bird shot; especially during the winter months when their diet shifts to mostly waterfowl and carrion. In the last four years alone, Avian Haven, a Maine-base rehabilitation center, has treated 57 cases of lead-poisoned eagles.