12/31/2025
Wrapping Up Another Year of Eagles!
2025 was definitely a challenging year for our zoomer/observer teams and for all those watching the cams - but there was one bright spot; the eaglets in the upper left are Miracle and Phenom (short for phenomenal) from our White Rock nest. Dad disappeared shortly after the first egg was laid, likely driven off by a younger eagle looking to claim the territory; Mom laid a second egg soon afterwards and incubated both of them on her own. At least two young males were in the area, vying with each other to become her mate - and they helped chase off intruders, but did not help her incubate. Fortunately, fish was plentiful, so Mom didn't need to leave the eggs untended for too long to get food - and amazingly, both eggs hatched, though later than the expected hatch window - which is how they got their names. And even though many things could have gone wrong over the next three months - both fledged successfully!
The saddest news was from our Surrey Reserve nest in the lower right corner - eaglets SR10 and SR11 both died of avian flu when they were 20 and 18 days old. Mom Brit appeared ill as well, but she recovered, and Dad Rey didn't seem to be affected. We were able to remove the bodies for necropsy and to make sure they didn't harm potential scavengers. Brit and Rey were seen in the area for a while but didn't return to the nest.
Neither Mère and Père from our Boundary Bay Central nest (upper right) nor the new young pair Glen and Gladys (lower left) nested as far as we know; Mère and Père may have tried an alternate location, but were back at the nest with the cams too early for that to have worked out.
Looking Ahead
Things are starting off slowly - which is fine because we don't expect to see eggs at any of our nests until March. We know that Mère and Père are back at Boundary Bay (though electrical work at the site means the cams are down some of the time - but should be up by March) and Glen and Gladys are back at Gleneagles. There is a pair of eagles at White Rock, which is likely Mom and may even be Dad - but they are working on an alternate nest too far from the cams for us to confirm their identities yet; they have done this before - and may move back to the nest with the cams as it gets closer to time for eggs. We know there are eagles in the Surrey Reserve area, and as I'm typing this, a crew from the internet company is at the site working with our tech folks to get the cams back online - so with a bit of luck, we'll know what they are up to very soon.
We've had a lot of expenses this year, and could use your support as we get ready for 2026. Here's the link to donate on our website - https://hancockwildlife.org/donations/
Please help if you can. HWF is a “Not-for-Profit” Society in Canada, and donating through CanadaHelps is the fastest way for those in Canada to get a tax slip. There's not a tax benefit for those of us in the US, but the rate of exchange is favorable and as someone from Maine, I find CanadaHelps easy to use.
Big thanks to all who donated in 2025 - we couldn't do this without you!