Thanks for the pictures of the celebration, eaglewoman - and I do feel sorry for whoever was in that nice fuzzy eagle costume in the 105 degree heat!

I've just updated the first post - if those of you who are more familiar with the nest have a moment, would you take a look and see if it looks accurate, and if there's anything else that should be added? Am I correct that the cam doesn't have sound? Thanks!

Hi JudyB! Good to hear from you! for the update on page 1!
Everything looked accurate to me, and you are correct that neither of the 2 cameras have sound capabilities.

A quick update on the recent nest activity...

We spotted one eagle near the nest last night(Thursday 10/14) around 6pm as we drove by, I'm guessing it was Patriot again?

Tonite(Friday 10/15), we took a walk down near the nest and we again spotted the one eagle, who I believe is Patriot, sitting near the nest on the Victory Branch. And, we also spotted a second eagle sitting on a branch in a tree nearby!

Now, I had my spotting scope tonite, and although the 2nd eagle was blocked by leaves a bit, my husband and I both agreed that it looked too small to be Liberty. Also, It did not appear to have the notch in the collar that distinguishes Liberty from other eagles. And, there was no calling or any type of pair bonding between the 2 eagles. Patriot was just staring intensely in the direction of the 2nd eagle, but we didn't see any other interaction.

I will check again tomorrow evening, and try to get some better pics from the new trail, too! Not sure who this other eagle might be, but it did look fully mature, not like the immature female intruder from last season! And, I'm also wondering when Liberty will make her first appearance this year?!? Can't wait for her return!

This is the best shot I could get of Patriot near the nest tonite...

Nice pic, Eaglewoman. Does Dec. 1st seem like forever away or what??

itsgrama! Yes, Dec 1st does seem way too far away! But, I will try to keep you up to date on what I'm seeing down there as often as I can!

I spent some time down there today(Saturday 10/16) between 5:00-6:30 pm. I didn't see anyone near the nest when I first got down there, so I started taking some pics of the nice touches Caltrans included in their Bridge Reconstruction Project. I especially love the metal sculptures of the jumping salmon and the eagle swooping down to snag one of them! What a nice tribute to Patriot & Liberty!

I decided to take a spin down the trail on my bike and check on the "Family Tree" area. I figured that since it was a Saturday, there would be lots of fisherman and other folks out and about, and the eagles probably wouldn't be hanging around. Well, I'm happy to say that I was WRONG!!!
There were 2 Eagles sitting up in the Family Tree, side by side!!! My heart raced thinking that Liberty had returned, and I quickly got out my camera and tripod and started snapping pics. I was able to get my spotting scope out, too, and got a pretty good look at both birds, which allowed me to identify the other eagle sitting with Patriot.

Well, all I can say is...Here we go again!!!
As far as I can tell, Patriot is seeing another "woman" again! Sorry eagleeye, I know how upset that makes you! And, there's a strong possibility that it could even be the same intruder female(who I think is one of their own offspring from their first season) who hung out with Patriot for a few weeks last year!!! Only this year, there are no black marks near the eyes and tail, indicating that now this is a fully mature adult bird.

They sat together for a while, but there wasn't any calling or pair bonding behaviors that I observed. Then, Patriot took off and headed for the nest area, and after a bit, the other one headed in that same direction.
Here are some pictures, see what you think...
The bird on the right is Patriot, but I'm not sure who the bird on the left is? Much smaller and no notch in the collar like Liberty has?

OMGosh......Nesteria Lane.....and again we will probably miss all the drama Not to mention the eviction. With the cameras being semi-privatized you would think they would be willing and able to start the viewing sooner rather than later. oh well.......Eaglewoman for keeping us informed. Much appreciated

You are very welcome, itsgrama!
I wanted to post a picture of Patriot & Liberty for you to compare with the recent pics of Patriot and the mysterious intruder???
Check out the size difference between this new bird and Liberty from the 2 pictures~Liberty towers over Patriot in size and this new bird is about the same size as Patriot.
This is the recent picture of Patriot(right) and the mystery bird(left)...

This is the picture of Patriot(left) & Liberty(right) from 2009

Hey Gang!
Well, it's a wet one here in Redding this weekend. They are calling for some heavy rains off and on, with accumulations up to 2-3 inches by Monday~yikes!

We were down at the nest a few times this week, and still no sign of LIberty. The "Visitor"(who we think may be one of their offspring) has still been hanging out with Dad. Maybe he is teaching him/her the ropes?

Which brings up some questions for me...
Would Patriot be accepting of either a male or female visitor? Or would this more likely be a female visitor? Can anyone tell by the width of the beak if this visitor is a male or female?

According to last year's forum, Liberty returned on October 28th, which would be next Thursday. So, let's hope we see her soon!

Here are a few more pics of Patriot and the Visitor from last Saturday...