A different kind of eagle: South Surrey golf course raising funds to move raptor nest<\/p>\n
Published 3:00 pm Friday, August 14, 2026<\/p>\n
A South Surrey golf course held a fundraising meeting Thursday to help raise awareness about a bald eagle nest that must be moved because the tree it\u2019s located in is no longer safe. <\/p>\n
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke attended the meeting, held at Nico Wynd Golf Course (Thursday (Aug. 13) afternoon, along with bald eagle experts David Hancock and Myles Lamont, and several interested Nico Wynd residents. The Nico Wynd strata complex owns and operates the integrated nine-hole golf course and clubhouse facilities.<\/p>\n
Lamont spoke at the meeting, along with Locke and Hancock, and noted that part of South Surrey is unique when it comes to wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mouth of the Nicomekl and Serpentine (rivers) and Boundary Bay (is) arguably some of the best raptor habitat or bald eagle habitat anywhere in the world. We have the highest population of both breeding as well as wintering bald eagles anywhere in the species range,\u201d he told those gathered. \u201cThis area is very rich for for raptor habitat and raptor biodiversity as well \u2026 we have more species of raptors than anywhere else in Canada right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The City of Surrey has \u201cone of the more progressive policies for managing bald eagles in the world of any local jurisdiction in B.C.,\u201d he continued, adding that they\u2019ve been working with the city as well as the province in preparing to move the nest, which is planned to occur when the eagles leave the area this fall for the winter. <\/p>\n
The plan is to install a tall pole nearby and a new nest, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nest they\u2019re in currently is in a bit of a state of decay. It\u2019s a grand fir and, as you\u2019ll see, there\u2019s some rot that\u2019s happening at the buttress of the tree. The tree could stand for a long time more, or it could fall down in the next windstorm. So the the driver for the nest removal is that there\u2019s an insurance risk by having that tree in proximity to the homes,\u201d Lamont said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re proposing to do is move the nest further away from any structures (and into) an artificial nest (on a) pole \u2026 that entails putting in a large utility pole with a custom-design aluminum basket that we\u2019ve been building for a few years now. We line those with natural nest materials.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the eagles return, they will notice their old home is gone, and will likely, move to the nearest option, which will be the artificial nest. <\/p>\n
The success rate of moving such nests when the eagles are wintering has a success rate \u201cupwards of 90 per cent,\u201d Lamont said. <\/p>\n
Hancock, known for his passion and knowledge of bald eagles, as well as live eagles nest cameras that stream on the Hancock Wildlife Foundation website, also spoke, noting he\u2019s been following the pairs of eagles who have used that nest since the 1990s, when a developer at that time illegally cut down a tree nearby with an eagle\u2019s nest in it. <\/p>\n
He remembered driving down Crescent Road close to Nico Wynd in 1995 after the same developer cut down another tree that \u201caccidentally\u201d fell into the new nest the eagles had built, and he saw a bald eagle with an eight-foot-long stick \u2014 albeit a dead stick \u2014 in one talon, headed to a tall tree just off the road. <\/p>\n
\u201cBy the time I got over off the road edge, listened, (and) rolled the window down \u2026 I could hear what was happening. His wife was telling him what to do,\u201d Hancock said, to chuckles from the gathered crowd.\u201dFemale eagles are about 25 to 30 per cent bigger than males. So they rule the roost. And she was going to rule it with her voice because it was very loud.\u201d<\/p>\n
The male eagle, just getting his breath back because he was holding the large stick while flying, started moving down the branch to the crotch of the tree, he recalled. <\/p>\n
\u2018It took him 17 minutes to get down to the crotch of the tree \u2026 she was just screaming at him,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
After the new nest attempt failed, Hancock said he noticed the new one they built about three weeks later, in the current hole No. 3 position at Nico Wynd. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been there basically, ever since,\u201d he said, noting if one of a pair dies, the remaining eagle will find a new mate as soon as possible. <\/p>\n
If people want to donate, a GoFundMe has been set up to help move the raptor\u2019s nest, as well as an osprey nest at the other end of the course that is located in a tree that has also been compromised. <\/p>\n