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Nesting eagles in Weber County

Posted at 10:21 PM, Mar 30, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-31 00:21:22-04

WEBER COUNTY, Utah -- A pair of nesting eagles are taking care of their eggs at the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area, and according to the Division of Wildlife Resources, the nest is the first and only bald eagles’ nest to be found in that area.

The nest was constructed by DWR Wildlife Watcher Bob Walters, who uses a scope to monitor eagles in salt Lake County. Walters said the nest has been called ugly, but it does its job.

“He referred to it as a fork that had gone through a disposal, and at the time it made me laugh, maybe I should’ve been insulted, but I wasn’t,” he said. “I knew enough about it… and received advice from others as a matter of fact: Whatever you do, build a big nest. Put a lot of sticks in a nest structure an eagle would be attracted to.”

The artificial nest was placed near the trunk of a dead cottonwood tree. Walters said eagles have been nesting there for 17 years, and he said he monitors the birds as well as helps people get a closer look at the animals.

“I lead a field trip, and we use spotting scopes and binoculars and hand out material and so forth,” he said. “We come out here and we enjoy the family of eagles, and we’ve done that for quite a few years.”

Walters said there are only 11 nesting eagles in the state of Utah. He said this pair was found nesting here in 1996, and he believes the adult pair has produced 36 offspring since making the nest their home.