What an unusual split family. Our Roberts Bay, Sidney, BC pair of bald eagles raises a young red-tailed hawk along with their three much faster growing and much larger eaglets.

The recent photos and videos posted to our www.Hancockwildlife.org forum from Lynda & Ian of three large eaglets about nine weeks old plus one 3 to 4 week old red-tailed hawklet in the same nest, and being very satisfactorily reared by the parent bald eagles, is quite extraordinary. However after spending the day at the site watching the six raptors interact so successfully then re-plotting the potential ages of the young raptors, and contemplating the options of how we got to today, begs some interesting thoughts.

First, this nest on the shores of the Saanich Peninsula historically has been a very successful nest, usually rearing three young, less frequently two and, like most eagles, even occasionally failing. In talking with the incredibly friendly and supportive neighbors who love 'their eagles', this nest tree has been occupied for more than 25 years. The surrounding harbors and huge areas of intertidal zone are incredibly productive. Many of the residents and fishermen that frequent the area speak of the eagles commonly taking ‘course fish’ – the undesirable by-catch thrown away by the fishermen. This pair of eagles not only lives in a subdivision on an incredibly busy fishing harbor, but they totally accept the closeness of residents, beach walkers, dogs and incessant boat traffic on the water and vehicles on the roads below. These are very successful urban eagles! I personally grew up a few miles to the south of this nest and knew of this and about five other nests in the adjacent area going back 60 years. This eagle territory was one of the first urban areas occupied by bald eagles that only 10 miles east on the nearby San Juan Island, Washington State, were not just being shot but were subject to a $2.00 bounty for their pair of legs. Yes, we humans have come a long way, with the eagles trying desperately to lead that way to cooperative sharing of the common habitat.