Saturday, April 24 was a very exciting day at 1000 Islands! Staff and volunteers have been monitoring the bald eagle nest in the Conservancy Zone as part of the Bald Eagle Nest Watch citizen science program. On Saturday, we were able to confirm that we not only have eaglets in the nest, but we have a very rare occurrence of 4 chicks! To our knowledge, this has only been documented three other times in the United States. We will be watching the nest closely to see how the eaglets are doing and how well the adults can keep up with feeding them. You can follow their progress on our 2021 Bald Eagle Nesting Updates page or follow us on Facebook.
In order to give the eaglets the best chance of survival, it is important to limit disturbance to the nest. The nest is difficult to find and see, and the specific nest location will not be released publicly in order to prevent disturbance to the nest site and property owners bordering the Conservancy Zone. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668c) prohibits disturbance to the eagles or the nesting site, including coming within 300 feet of an active nest tree, and the use of drones to view a nest. 1000 Islands Conservancy Zone includes 350 acres of protected land with ongoing restoration and educational activities.
Click here for the full media release on the eaglets.