A Tale of Two Eagles: Nature’s Resilience at Waikiki Springs

Article and photos by Carrie Dugovic, Conservancy Volunteer

Driving on North Mill Road near Fairwood and Mead High School, one would never expect that a left turn into a neighborhood would lead to a captivating, peaceful, and gorgeous walk through the Little Spokane River Valley. A friend invited me to join her a few years ago. It was fall, we parked our cars at the small Discovery Pass trailhead and proceeded down a wide switchback path. It was quiet, and a canopy of evergreen and deciduous trees with their leaves in full glory filtered the sunlight as we breathed in the crisp autumn air.

Once down the switchbacks, we followed the trail through the wide valley, across a bridge over the sparkling Little Spokane River, and to the other side. The valley is beautiful, with open expanses of grasses, wildflowers, and a few huge trees. I would learn it’s a perfect habitat for a pair of resident bald eagles to hunt and fish and raise their young.

Looking up, I saw an eagle perched on a high branch, still and alert, its white head and yellow beak bright in the sunlight. Regardless of how many times I see an eagle, I am always in awe at their majesty and size. I watched it for a while through my binoculars and took a highly zoomed photo with my fairly inexpensive Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80 20-1200 bridge camera. Little did I know what this bird had in store for me.

Following the trail up the hill, I was awarded a perfect view of a huge nest. Unoccupied this time of year, it was still impressive. I made a promise to myself to come back in the spring to see if the eagle had a mate and if they had an eaglet. I knew little of bald eagles and their behaviors, whether they migrated or stayed through the winter, and I was intrigued to learn more.

Winter descended and I continued to regularly visit Waikiki Springs. It truly is a magical place, regardless of the season. I enjoyed exploring and learning the trails while connecting with nature. I didn’t see any eagles that winter and wondered about them, did they migrate or stay in the local area?

Then, one day in early spring, I was delighted to not only see an eagle, but she was sitting on her huge nest. There was now also a male in a nearby tree. I was happy to get a photo with my bridge camera from quite a distance. I went back several times throughout that summer and the next and watched the pair raise their eaglets. I thought it interesting how they worked together and that the male was significantly smaller than the female.

It takes five years for a bald eagle to get their white feathers. At one year, a juvenile’s beak, legs, and feathers are dark, becoming variable over the next few years until their head and tail feathers turn white and their beak and legs become bright yellow. Waikiki Springs became even more special to me as I felt a connection to these wild and majestic birds.

In the Inland Northwest, when we hear a weather forecast predict high winds, it gives us pause. It was a very windy day in early fall when the branches of the tree supporting the eagle nest crashed to the ground, along with half of the tree. When I heard the news, I was so sad. What of the eagles? Where will they go? Mourning the loss, I continued my frequent walks through the conservation area, looking for what I now considered to be “my eagles”, along with many other people who felt the same.

Imagine my delight when, one day in early November, I saw an eagle flying with a branch in her beak. I watched closely as to where she landed, a huge tree just downstream from the previous nest, right next to the Little Spokane River. I rushed down the trail and watched excitedly as she carefully placed the branch and flew off to get another one. Her mate worked with her, building the nest. Over the next few months, the nest grew as the eagles carefully placed one branch after another, getting it ready for this year’s eaglet. Soon, she was sitting and incubating an egg in the new nest. I would like to think some of the branches in their new nest came from the old.

I read that bald eagles can live 15-25 years in the wild, sometimes longer. I am grateful for their gift to me; the gift of inquisitiveness, a heartfelt desire to protect their land and of the need to stay fit, healthy and to keep active. I hope to watch this pair for many years to come as we gracefully age together.