Unusual Southern Eagle Nest Found

A family of three bald eagles is nesting in the El Dorado National Forest near Placerville, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“It’s the southernmost recorded nesting since at least World War II,” said Mariann Armijo, a Forest Service wildlife biologist. “Maybe they’re returning to this part of their native grounds after all these years.”

Armijo added that the eagles, first identified in late May, probably arrived at the Union Valley Lake site in March to set up their home in an old tree with a flattened top.

An eaglet has been hatched, but it has not yet attempted flight, she said.

Armijo said the birds apparently came south because of a population increase among eagles in their primary nesting areas in Modoc, Shasta and Lassen counties.