Purchasing a gift card to a local hardware store for your favorite nesting eagle pair?
There’s no need to do so; after all, eagles don’t use gift cards, nor patronize hardware stores, and when it comes to building sturdy and substantial nests, one well-placed stick at a time? The magnificent raptors are elegant experts and have been so for literal eons.
Still, sometimes an eaglet will get a bit too close to a nest’s edge, which is what happened in the early hours of April 24 on Santa Cruz Island.
An Explore.org-helmed camera keeps a watchful, around-the-clock gaze on the Fraser Point nest, and when viewers noticed one of the chicks had fallen out, they immediately alerted the Institute for Wildlife Studies, a nonprofit organization “(d)edicated to conserving wildlife, habitat, and biodiversity.”
Erin Weiner, the bald eagle project lead for the institute, quickly headed to the island to review the situation and observe how the chick was doing.
A message on the institute’s site shared what would transpire after Erin reached the nest: “If he is healthy she will attempt to return him to the nest. If he is injured, she’s prepared to transport him to a wildlife care facility.”
That transport wasn’t required: The eagle expert deemed the chick, who is called Ryder, to be in good form before gingerly placing him back with this family.
Lauren Tillotson of the Nature Conservancy was another key member of the rescue mission: She “held the ladder steady” for Erin as she returned the precious youngster to his parents and siblings.
Ryder is the third chick to hatch this season for mated pair Andor and Cruz; the arrivals of siblings Sasha and Zuma proceeded the little eaglet’s April 2 hatching.
The family is loved by nature fans around California and beyond, including many regular viewers who keep a near-constant “eagle eye” on the Fraser Point nest cam.
It’s this close watch that led to the rescue of the youngest chick, a little one that is back home, and snug, with the Fraser Point eagle family.
Ms. Weiner recently shared some insights about the Channel Islands bald eagles. “This is a very unique population, a legacy population. Eagles used to have a much wider range.”
“Now the Channel Islands are the remaining coastal population of eagles in Southern California.”
With this in mind, Ryder’s sweet return to the nest is surely making the spirits of those advocating for these birds soar high.
Updated April 24