Lady and A2M Share the cam perch.

During the 2024/2025 season (which started in October 2024), adult Bald Eagle visits to the Eagle Cam nest at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands have been inconsistent. There have been sporadic sightings of eagles spending time at the nest as they worked to fortify and perhaps prepare the nest for future egg laying. Thus far, only one potentially bonded pair has been observed mating and performing other bonding activities. The eagle named Lady is an impressive female that we first identified as a frequent visitor last season. A male identified this season with the name A2M  may be Lady’s bonded mate. (A2M is derived from the naming convention we started this season for frequent adult visitors: A=Adult, 2=the second repeat visitor identified at the nest, and M=Male.)

An Alternate Nest
With this inconsistent activity, Eagle Cam volunteers began contemplating the possibility that this eagle pair has another nest and could be using the Dulles nest as an alternate nest. According to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, a pair of eagles will generally return to the same nest year after year. This is called nest site fidelity. In most, but not all, cases, eagles will have more than one nest within their breeding territory, with one being the alternate nest. The most commonly accepted explanation for this occurrence is that the alternate nest serves as insurance in case the primary nest is destroyed early in the nesting season.

A pair of Bald Eagles at the nest near Banshee.
Photo by Dave Cazenas

Through sightings, bird counts and other data-gathering means, it is clear that many Bald Eagles—from juveniles to fully plumaged adults—live and thrive throughout the Chesapeake Bay region, including the Dulles Greenway Wetlands area. In addition to the time they devote to the the Eagle Cam, many of our volunteers are avid hikers and birders and satisfy their passion for both by exploring areas across Loudoun County. This season, one of the volunteers identified a large eagle nest near Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve that is less than two miles from the Dulles nest. He witnessed adult Bald Eagles in the vicinity of this nest during several separate visits.

Could this be a bonded pair (maybe Lady and A2M)? Are they preparing the nest for laying eggs and raising  eaglets there? Is this a primary or alternate nest to the Dulles nest? We do not have answers to any of those questions. However, we will continue to monitor this other nest from the ground. Maybe we will be able to use the cams to track eagles in flight from the Dulles nest to the vicinity of this other nest. If we are very lucky, maybe we will be able to determine if the two nests are in use by the same eagles.

Eagle Cam Sights and Sounds
Regardless, we will be watching daily from the cams to see what happens at the Dulles nest and beyond. The cams provide an important way to learn more about the lives and habits of these amazing raptors. Other raptors have visited the nest this winter, too. If we don’t have eaglets in the nest, could we get  Barred or Great Horned owlets or maybe baby hawks? Perhaps we will have a squirrel family in the “basement” area under the nest?

The cams give us a view into the lives of many other wildlife that reside in the wetlands from tiny spiders to majestic Great Blue Herons and White-tailed Deer bucks. The sounds of the wetlands include almost deafening sounds of Spring Peepers, Canada Geese and coyotes that are captured by the cam. Cam watchers can enjoy the sights and sounds of the wetlands  throughout the year.

The post Dulles Wetlands Eagle Cam Nest Update appeared first on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.