A pair of eagles demovicted from their North Vancouver waterfront home have returned and found suitable housing in the neighbourhood, thanks to a bit of help.
In August, Concert Properties informed the community they would have to to make room for the
The province agreed to the developer鈥檚 request on the condition they follow and pay for a mitigation plan put together with City of North Vancouver, the Squamish Nation, the North Shore Eagle Network and eagle expert David Hancock of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation.
The plan consisted of putting up a temporary artificial nest in a tree in the City of North Vancouver鈥檚 works yard, about 480 metres to the north.
The eagles are now back and have wasted no time moving in and working on some home improvement projects, said Sally McDermott, co-ordinator for the North Shore Eagle Network.
鈥淢ore or less, they鈥檙e having fun with sticks. They're doing great. They are really taking to the nest. That鈥檚 always a bit of a concern, but David Hancock was very confident in the tree that we chose,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e called it right on.鈥�
When it comes to moving an eagles鈥� nest, timing is critical. At the end of the summer, Lower Mainland eagles migrate north to feed and to let their maturing eaglets know it鈥檚 time to move out and start fetching dinner on their own. The pair had kept a home in the cottonwood tree for the last three years, so volunteers from the network knew roughly when they鈥檇 be leaving town.
On Oct. 1, the first one returned to the temporary nest. The other came back eight days later.
鈥淭hey don't necessarily go to the same place together. And they come back at separate times,鈥� McDermott said. 鈥淭hey have a separate vacation from each other after spending 12 to 14 weeks bringing up their young.鈥�
After the completion of the first phase of Concert鈥檚 Harbourside project, three or four years from now, the plan is to transition the eagles to a new nest on an artificial pole planted closer to the waterfront, where they prefer to be for hunting.
鈥淭he plan is to put a camera in. It will be the first [eagle nest] camera we have on the North Shore, so anybody can watch too,鈥� she said.
