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Pinnacle Rock, Catalina Island, CA
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Most pictures are from the Channel Islands Live! Eagle CAM Discussion Forum,
primarily from the forum IWS Updates

Male K65 was removed from a nest near Steep, Vancouver Island, BC, in 1986 and released from the Bullrush Hacktower on Catalina Island; female K92 was raised at the San Francisco Zoo in 1999 and released on Catalina Island from the Bullrush Hacktower. This pair was allowed to keep their eggs in 2007 (instead of having them removed for incubation), and both hatched - making them the first pair of chicks to hatch naturally without human assistance on Catalina Island since 1945; males K00 and male K71 both fledged successfully, but K71 was found dead in September. The pair laid two eggs in 2008; both hatched and male K70 and female K71 fledged successfully, but K71 was found dead July 24, probably of starvation; K70 was still on Catalina Island as of January 2009. (There were two K71s because numbers of eagles that die are reused; it was a coincidence that the number was used again at the same nest.)

There was apparently a change of partners at the beginning of 2009, with female K56 becoming K65's new mate. We don't know what might have happened, only that K92 has not been seen. K56 was from an egg laid at Seal Rocks, taken to IWS for incubation, and then fostered back into the Seal Rocks nest in 2005.

The Catalina eaglets are given short-range GPS units when they're banded so they can be tracked by IWS staff - if the staff is close to the eaglet; once they fly off to other islands or the mainland, they can no longer be traced, and even on Catalina, the person with the receiver has to get fairly close to an eaglet to pick up its signal. Because of the remote location of the Pinnacle Rock nest, it's unlikely that a cam will be placed there.

Pinnacle Rock nest
eaglegal's photo - February 11, 2009
(the nest is at the end of that narrow point)

Pinnacle Rock nest
Eagle Guy's photo - February 27, 2009
Pinnacle Rock pair with their first egg.

Based on past experience, look for eggs in late February and early March, chicks in early April, and fledging from mid-June to early July.

Summary of 2009 Season:
  • eggs laid: ~Feb 27, ~Mar 3
  • egg lost: Mar 28
  • hatched: on or before Apr 5 (~37 days for first egg)
  • fledged: seen flying June 30 (86 days)

All images are the property of the cam from which they were taken and/or the person credited.
Thank you for letting me use the images for this compilation.