Local eagle population doing well

Eagle parents along the Columbia River have their hands full with four eaglets in their nest in the Washington Flats area.

Local wildlife photography enthusiast Nora Gabler Jenn, previously profiled in a Star article titled "Nora the Explorer," excitedly told The Star about seeing the eagles on her frequent drives around the area, as shown on her Facebook page. Jenn is watching three nests of eaglets this spring.

"Four eaglets is kind of rare, but not too rare," said Eric Braaten, a local biologist for the state Department of Fish & Wildlife, in an email to The Star. "Normal clutch size is 2-3 eggs for bald eagles. With the excellent fisheries on Rufus Woods reservoir, Banks Lake and Lake Roosevelt along with all the cliff, tree and snag habitat we have in the surrounding area, it is very ideal for bald eagles. Due to the productive waters, healthy adult eagles may be more successful in raising larger clutch sizes. It is a chore feeding two eaglets, but with excellent habitat conditions it is definitely possible to raise more."

Braaten said the upper Columbia River's bald eagle population is "very healthy," and their territory is expanding.

"As the local bald eagle population grows, the expansion or distribution of bald eagles territories expand inland to any suitable or marginal habitat," he said. "That has been an observation of mine over the last 10 years."

Science Officer Don McIver, of the North Central Washington Audubon Society, was surprised to hear of four eaglets in one nest.

"This is a very interesting observation," McIver said. "I looked through several sources in my library and most indicated two eggs per nest, and a couple of sources give a range of 1-3. Nowhere have I found anyone suggesting as many as four eggs or eaglets."

"Quite often the first born chick kills its younger sibling either outright or by hogging the incoming food and thereby starving it to death," he said. "I couldn't possibly guess the outcome of four chicks."

Jenn's most recent photos, from May 28, showing all four eaglets, are on her Facebook page but would not reproduce well in the paper.