Folsom bald eagles find a new home after storm destroys nest

Two beloved Folsom bald eagles, known as Mama and Papa, are rebuilding their nest in a new tree after a powerful January storm knocked down the towering tree that held their longtime home above Lake Natoma.”I saw this big open space and my heart stopped. It just stopped,” said Kathy Kayner with FOLFAN, Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma.Kayner is with the bald eagle interpretive program. She first saw the eagles in mid-January, a few weeks after the storm. “They looked good. They looked really good,” she said.Photographer Mark Spicer takes photos of the powerful eagles with his long lens, capturing the creatures who’ve become part of the community. They are the quiet neighbors everyone wants to get to know.”They’re just amazingly majestic creatures,” Spicer said. He expressed relief that the eagles found a new home in a new tree, not far from their previous home.”From a photography standpoint, it’s easier to see them. There’s not as many branches that are in the way and very open,” Spicer said. “You can see them coming and going.” “It can be overwhelming to see in full wingspan when they fly right, right close to you. You don’t get that very often, you know, to get it right here in our backyard,” he added.Kayner shared her hopes for the eagles’ future, as they’ve raised nearly two dozen eaglets at Lake Natoma in the past decade. “We’re hoping that it all works out for them. And they have been actively mating still. So we’re crossing our fingers,” she said.The California Department of Parks and Recreation warns observers to keep their distance. Going around the fence and getting too close can result in tickets for trespassing and harassing wildlife. There is currently no camera set up at the new nest.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

FOLSOM, Calif. —

Two beloved Folsom bald eagles, known as Mama and Papa, are rebuilding their nest in a new tree after a powerful January storm knocked down the towering tree that held their longtime home above Lake Natoma.

“I saw this big open space and my heart stopped. It just stopped,” said Kathy Kayner with FOLFAN, Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma.

Kayner is with the bald eagle interpretive program. She first saw the eagles in mid-January, a few weeks after the storm.

“They looked good. They looked really good,” she said.

Photographer Mark Spicer takes photos of the powerful eagles with his long lens, capturing the creatures who’ve become part of the community.

They are the quiet neighbors everyone wants to get to know.

“They’re just amazingly majestic creatures,” Spicer said.

He expressed relief that the eagles found a new home in a new tree, not far from their previous home.

“From a photography standpoint, it’s easier to see them. There’s not as many branches that are in the way and very open,” Spicer said. “You can see them coming and going.”

“It can be overwhelming to see in full wingspan when they fly right, right close to you. You don’t get that very often, you know, to get it right here in our backyard,” he added.

Kayner shared her hopes for the eagles’ future, as they’ve raised nearly two dozen eaglets at Lake Natoma in the past decade.

“We’re hoping that it all works out for them. And they have been actively mating still. So we’re crossing our fingers,” she said.

The California Department of Parks and Recreation warns observers to keep their distance. Going around the fence and getting too close can result in tickets for trespassing and harassing wildlife.

There is currently no camera set up at the new nest.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel