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Bald eagles in the back yard

5,633 Views | 44 Replies | Last: 10 mo ago by Gunny456
JayM
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I live on an East Texas on the "rural" and wooded east side. Very often when I walk outside I see a pair of bald eagles in the trees. Today after a long holiday trip I walked down to the dock and there they were way up in the top of one of the pine trees. It is so cool to live in a place where you commonly see bald eagles. In your back yard. That's all I got.
Milwaukees Best Light
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AG
Pics?
JayM
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Oh, I don't want to have to prove it with pics. I have a few and they aren't very IPhone good. Didn't expect it today really and as soon as I walked out the first one flew. I was walking out to the dock. So I tuned around and walked back in to tell my wife as we get a kick out of seeing eagles. When she walked out the second flew. We see them year 'round so I suspect they nest across the cove on a wooded peninsula. We see a lot of wildlife. But it is really cool to see eagles. We see a ton of wood ducks and the occasional mallards, otter, beaver, deer and nutria. I've seen shovelers, mergansers, bufflehead and teal from my back windows in years past. And we used to hear migrating geese when they flew over, but not anymore.
BTW, I caught a few bass off the dock this evening. The largest was just under four pounds.
I live east of Tyler.
IMnAg79
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AG
We have two on our place in Northern Gonzales county.


Shayboy3
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S
What is really cool is fishing on a lake in East Texas and have a pair of them fly right over you showing you how to fish!
Lake Murvaul has quite a few nesting around the lake.
JayM
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Between you and me, that's two of the 160 breeding pairs supposedly in Texas. My bias is that there are more than that. They are thick on Toledo Bend.
JayM
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That's why I think there are more than the reported 160 pairs.
agsalaska
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AG
I have no doubt that there are more than that. I watched a pair for years in Robertson County off of 979 and have also seen them off of 281 near Burnet. When they choose to perch in Texas they dominate all of the other birds. I am not sure how well they breed here though.

We used to watch them by the hundreds in Alaska.
oklaunion
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You sure those aren't caracaras? Prime country for them.
JayM
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agsalaska said:

I have no doubt that there are more than that. I watched a pair for years in Robertson County off of 979 and have also seen them off of 281 near Burnet. When they choose to perch in Texas they dominate all of the other birds. I am not sure how well they breed here though.

We used to watch them by the hundreds in Alaska.
Not sure what you mean by "how well they breed". I've seen nests on my lake, Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn. The fact that we see adult pairs throughout the year would tend to indicate they do breed and nest. The pair that hangs around the cove are not the only birds on these lakes (Lake Tyler east and west). I've seen multiple birds on Palestine. I'm sure we have our fair share of migrators though. There are a bunch of eagles in Florida and in South Louisiana. In fact I used to spot nests in the cypress swamp just to the north of the New Orleans airport so my point is they seem to love warm climates. But then they breed and nest in the depth of cold in northern states and Alaska. I am just happy that I see them often.
JayM
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I wondered the same. Used to see Caracaras outside Houston on the Katy Prairie. I saw BEs there also.
agsalaska
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Quote:

Not sure what you mean by "how well they breed".
I mean I am not sure how well their sex produces babies around here.


Glad you see them on your lake! That's great. I just havent seen any chicks around me and it would be cool if I did. Good to hear it's working.
nealan
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I live near and fish frequently on a small 150 acre lake not far from Murvaul. We have a breeding pair. I've been seeing them for years
agsalaska
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Ever seen their offspring turn into adults?
IMnAg79
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oklaunion said:

You sure those aren't caracaras? Prime country for them.
99.9% sure..Know what a caracaras looks like..Plenty of those around.

First time I spotted the one he was on top of one of two pig carcasses while buzzards were on another 50 feet away. They wanted nothing to do with him
nealan
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I can't say that I've ever paid that much attention. But I will say that I've seen bald eagles at many East Texas lakes that I've fished
GSS
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Last week, west Brazos county. Hog was shot two days before.
NRA Life
TSRA Life
EskimoJoe
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agsalaska said:



We used to watch them by the hundreds in Alaska.


I remember learning about them in elementary school in Alaska. The curriculum said they are very rare to see. We couldn't understand as we saw them all the time.
BMo
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I live in Colorado Co after a move from Brazos Co last year and see bald eagles everywhere. I've been photographing them for a few years at various places including in Brazo Co and out at Lake Somerville. There was one seen sometimes in Castlegate near one of the bodies of water also. The Gonzales Co eagles aren't surprising and I know there are several pairs in Bastrop Co. They breed very well and I see a number of juveniles in various stages of life. Full white plumage/adulthood isn't until year five. They live a long time. Last Friday we witnessed two adults attempting to make a juvenile leave their territory. It was likely an offspring.

My galleries of a few pics include Brazos, Washington, Walker, Wharton, Colorado, and Montgomery counties. American Bald Eagle Photo Galleries

Colorado Co.





I drove by this site recently on Wilcox Lane near Wixson Valley and I believe the nest/tree is gone now.



Wharton Co.





aggiedoc100
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AG
A pair of frequent visitors at our small lake in the city limits of Sulphur Springs
"They say I'm apathetic, but I don't really care" Robert Earl Keen
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Shayboy3
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S
Really nice pictures.
MyNameIsJeff
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GSS said:

Last week, west Brazos county. Hog was shot two days before.

I saw a similar picture yesterday from the Bedias area. Hog shot the night before and game cam caught an eagle on it the next day.
fullback44
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AG
How long does it take for the bald eagles to build a nest that big? Looks huge compared to a regular bird nest
JayM
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Can build it in a single season. In fact commonly the wind destroys nests. The birds go back and repair the nest or build very near the old one. I watch a couple of web cams. The Decorah eagles in Iowa and the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam in Ft Myers. Both nests have been destroyed and rebuilt. And in Florida the original pair was broken up by a young new male eagle and he took up with the female. She died last year and he took up with a second female this year. They use the same tree as the original pair. I've been watching these (in my spare time) for years.
JayM
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I've seen the same as your first picture here also. A mature eagle fighting mid air with an immature eagle. Eagles are pretty secretive. So we see the pair but have to work at finding nests. Especually when the nests are near the "big woods".
fullback44
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AG
Very interesting.. thanks
3 Toed Pete
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In our Houston area suburb, near water, we get the best of both worlds.

Commonly see eagles while sitting in the back yard and get the truck broken into overnight in the driveway.
schmellba99
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The absolute last thing I want around my area or hunting lease are nesting/breeding eagles.
44mAG
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oklaunion said:

You sure those aren't caracaras? Prime country for them.
Those indeed are caracaras.
OnlyForNow
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Sure look like em to me.
Badace52
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We have a nesting pair down on Placedo Creek in Victoria County. They've been there for at least ten years now and have fledged chicks every year. Their offspring have to be spreading around the area.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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Tx_Aggie15
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Shoot we get them in the loop in the HTX.


NColoradoAG
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txags92
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To whoever was asking about breeding success, my mom was living in a nursing home for several years in north houston and had a nest she could see looking out the window from her room. We saw several sets of hatchlings grow to adulthood from that mated pair of eagles. They eventually moved the nest to a different location we couldn't see due to new subdivision construction near the original, but we would still hear them calling in the woods in the spring and occasionally see them fly overhead carrying a fish towards the nest.
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