A cottonwood tree holding an active bald eagle nest in Barr Lake State Park recently toppled in a windstorm, it’s the second year in a row that a nesting tree came down.
Officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife believe the recent tree fell on April 6, almost one year to the day after a nesting tree came down on April 5, 2021, according to a CPW news release.
No remnants of the nest or eggs have been found from the tree that fell last week because of deep water in the area. Photos from a park volunteer revealed that the tree had fallen and park rangers confirmed the incident.
“It is with a heavy heart that we report that our eagle nesting tree fell down in the windstorms last week,” said Park Manager Michelle Seubert, in the release. “This was a new nest that they started this year after the other nesting tree fell last year. We are hopeful next year they will choose the tree we put our wire basket in. You just never know what mother nature has in store for us.”
Sad news to report from Barr Lake State Park where one of its nesting bald eagle trees fell down for a second consecutive year. The strong windstorm last week blew it down. A second nest at the park also appears to have failed this year.
Story ⬇️
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE)
Park staff in cottonwood trees in November. A second bald eagle nest at Barr Lake, on the opposite side of the reservoir, appears to have failed with no adult eagles observed there over the last two weeks, the CPW said. Several other nests in the area outside of Barr Lake State Park remain intact and active.
Of 95 known bald eagle nests that were occupied along the Front Range last year, 81% hatched eaglets and 75% successfully fledged at least one eaglet. Numbers vary from year-to-year, but a 65% to 90% range is a likely rate of success.
Last year, 122 nests were reported as occupied by bald eagles in the northeast region of Colorado, according to CPW, and there were 246 reported occupied nests statewide. That statewide number is up from 82 in 2016.
A pair of bald eagles has been observed in Barr Lake’s wildlife refuge every year since 1986, the release said. After three years of failed attempts to raise young, the bald eagle pair was finally successful in 1989. As of 2021, Barr Lake eagles have fledged 59 young eagles.
Bald Eagles live about 20 to 30 years in the wild, and longer in captivity, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
