August 11 2011

I was wondering why the Vanier eagles left the nest area so early this season 2011 but I heard today that the Fraser River salmon run is here and the mouth of the Fraser River is only a few miles away from the nest, just past Wreck Beach B.C. Happy fishing Vaniers.

I'm in Vancouver for a week and today was my first full day here. I saw an adult bald eagle flying from Stanley Park towards Vanier this morning, then a juvie heading the same way an hour later, a third in a tree by the swimming pool at second beach and finally, we went to Vanier and both adults are there! I saw the first one and didn't realize there was a second one till I took a picture. I spoke to a woman who was there and she's been watching them for years and said they just came back over the past few days.

Thanks Karen!!

I was at English Bay today and saw an eagle flying towards the nest so I decided to walk over. I was across from it and didn't see any eagles but when I got up on the bridge I saw both of them facing False Creek. I quickened my pace and made it to the nest and saw both adults in the tree, still facing the creek. I took some pictures and then went to Granville Island and when I came back they were flying around.

I'm not sure if I'll get back there before Saturday but it was pretty great to see them fly around. When I came back from Granville one of them was being escorted back to the nesting tree and then they both ended up flying towards the Burrard Street Bridge near Kits. The crows went wild and chased them as much as they could. They forced them into the trees before I left.

Great picture of ma and pa Vanier so excited they are back and will pay a visit to the nest tree on Saturday, my day off, again the picture of ma Vanier in your Flicker album is spectacular thanks fellow eagle lover

I left the hotel and walked towards the water and immediately saw a juvenile bald eagle circling low and gaining altitude. The shorebirds scattered but the eagle just went towards the Burrard Street Bridge but not Vanier Park. I started walkling towards the bridge and once I climbed up I could see both adults in the tree on the same branches as yesterday. I made it over and they were still there so I took a few pics and then went to Granville for donuts and an hour later came back but they were gone. That's likely it for me since it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow and then Saturday I'll be leaving although if it's nice, maybe I can make it over one more time. It's been such a thrill to see them again!

Okay, so I ended up going for a walk this morning. I just went along the seawall towards second beach because I wanted to find the juvie that I keep seeing. Instead, an adult flew over the beach along the seawall just past me and landed on the rocks by the water. I was kicking myself for not bringing my DSLR but I had my point and shoot so I was able to make a video. The other cool thing was there were otters - at least they looked like otters - swimming behind the eagle. They came up on the rocks twice and went back in the water pretty quickly and the eagle left them alone. While I was videoing the otters, the eagle caught either a bird or fish and took off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc8WqtJ14-A

I don't know if it is a Vanier eagle. I remember that there were other eagle nests in Stanley Park but I don't know where they are or if the one(s) by the Second Beach pool are also the Vanier eagles.

Play it at 720 for best quality. It's dark and grainy and you'll be hearing the rain hit my umbrella. I don't know where the eagle went and I had a second walk an hour or so later but didn't see it again. I also saw a great blue heron with a fish.

TEF,
Thank you for the great updates. Sounds like you had a nice visit with plenty to do.I will have to make a point of getting back down to this nest.
again thank you and have a safe trip home.
L

I walked along the sea wall this morning and saw the eagle come out to the rocks but it didn't stay long cause the crows chased it away. Later in the morning we went to the Vanier nest and saw an adult in the tree and when we were walking to Granville Island we saw the second one being escorted over the Burrard Street bridge by a crow.

And that really is it for me! I'll post pics once I get back to Toronto.

And now I'm in Toronto and here are a couple of pictures.

Okay, this process of posting pics has got to be the most antiquated I've ever seen! Finally managed to post the 3 pictures. The dark one was taken by Second Beach early in the morning in the rain. I had the umbrella in one hand and the camera in the other and had to shoot at a very low setting so it didn't come out very well but it was cool to see. There are a couple of birds on the right side scattering because of the eagle.

Ma Vanier was up in the tree in the other shot. Pa Vanier was being escorted back from Granville by the crow. They went up over the bridge and out of sight. When we went back to the nest I wandered around a bit because the eagles were nowhere to be seen and the crows weren't carrying on but my friend saw one of the eagles come back over the coast guard building but it was chased back to the Granville area by a crow before I got back. Someone else said one of them was on the totem pole but I'm not sure if they meant the one at Vanier or the smaller one between Granville and Vanier. Regardless, they're back so if they're not in the nesting tree, they're probably somewhere else.