WDFW -- Crossing Paths Newsletter

We also want you to call us as soon as you know of an eagle, peregrine or redtailed hawk nest; we will map them and report them to the local jurisdictions for protection, and advise you what to do if you have a problem with the nest or the tree it is in.

To help distinguish nests, even without seeing any identifiable birds, ask yourself these questions: How large is the nest (diameter), what is the nest made of – branches, sticks, twigs or grass, how big are the sticks, how high is the nest, what kind of tree is it in, how tall is the tree, is it in a forest or on the edge, how long has it been there, have you seen any birds going in or out of the nest?

Nest characteristics of different species of birds vary. Even squirrel nests are identifiable, although some birds such as crows, sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper’s hawks will use squirrel nests.

Eagles
Eagles build the largest nests and there are both bald eagles and golden eagles in Washington. Golden eagles are almost exclusively on the east side of the state, and most of the bald eagles nest on the west side of the state.

Bald eagles build the grand daddy of all nests. They are massive platforms typically 6 feet in diameter made of sticks and branches placed in large trees. Look for nests constructed with very large sticks, some an inch or more in diameter and maybe up to 5 feet long. The largest old nests are known to be 12 ft high and 8 1/2 feet across. West of the Cascades, Douglas fir is used most frequently, large cottonwoods are used a lot, and Sitka spruce is used occasionally. East of the Cascades, Ponderosa pine is most preferred, then Douglas fir, with cottonwoods also used. Nest trees tend to be larger than the surrounding trees. Trees
are typically 100 – 200 feet tall and the nests are usually 30 – 60 feet off the ground, sometimes higher. Bald eagles use their nests year after year; some nests have been used for more than 35 years. Bald eagles also have alternate nests. Water will almost always be nearby. Bald eagle nests can be very conspicuous. On the west side of the state especially, bald eagles have taken to nesting in very urban areas, even in Seattle. See WDFW’s “EagleCam” on our web site (http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/) to get a great view of a bald eagle nest.

Golden eagles construct large platform nests usually on cliffs or rock ledges and only sometimes in trees. Thick branches, twigs and stems of any kind are used to construct the nests. Like bald eagles, golden eagles will use their nests year after year. New nests are about 2 1/2 feet in diameter; old nests are about 5 – 6 feet across after they have been added to year after year. Nests can be 1 1/2 to 5 feet high. The nests in trees can be placed from 10 to 100 feet off the ground.

Sometimes first year bald eagles are mistaken for golden eagles. Bald eagles gradually molt into their white heads and tails over the course of 4 – 5 years and look mottled brown, like very dark marble, in their first and second years. If you have a nest in or near your yard, it is probably not a golden eagle’s.

Hawks
Red-tailed hawks nest in wide variety of habitats. They prefer to have open access into their nests so nest trees are usually on the edge of a woodland overlooking a field or open land or sometimes in a small clump of large trees surrounded by meadow. Nests are bulky and outside diameter of the nest is about 2 – 2 1/2 feet. Nests can get pretty deep, sometimes 2 feet high, and are made of large sticks, smaller than what eagles use but much larger than crows or squirrels, about 1/2 inch in diameter mixed with smaller sticks.

Red-tails usually place their nests about 50 - 60 feet up tree but nest height can range from 35 – 90 feet. The nest is anywhere in the tree where branches will support the nest but most commonly on branches against the main trunk. Nest trees will usually be the largest and strongest trees but nest trees can be
surprisingly small. Red-tails normally nest in deciduous trees such as cottonwood and maple, but will choose evergreens, especially Douglas fir, where the nest is extremely difficult to see. They also nest on cliffs where trees are scarce. Red-tails will be seen perched by and soaring over their nests, and if you approach the nest, you will hear them make their defensive cry. They, too, will nest in the middle of urban areas where they seem to like edges of highways.

Cooper’s hawks and sharp-shinned hawks are small, similar hawks who nest in mostly mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, sometimes in groves of trees in open country, but they prefer thick cover when available. Unlike red-tailed hawks, they usually nest in the interior of forests and woodlots. Sometimes Cooper’s hawks will nest in wooded areas near edges of fields or water openings. Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks (accipiters) place their nests at a height of about 35-45 feet, but can be 10 – 60 feet up tree.

Nests are broad flat platforms made of twigs and bark, unlike the large bulky nest of the red-tail, and are usually built on a horizontal branch by the trunk of the tree. Nests will be much smaller than eagles and red-tails and the sticks and twigs are very much smaller in diameter. Nests are about two feet across and 6 – 8 inches thick. They will occasionally build on old crow and squirrel nests. It’s easy to confuse these hawk’s nests with crows and squirrel nests. The lining of the nest may be several inches deep by the time the chicks hatch because they continually add material throughout incubation. It would not be unusual to see a Cooper’s hawk nest in suburban wooded areas.

Crows
Crows build cup nests typical of songbirds but the size of Cooper’s or sharp-shinned hawks’ nests. They place their nests from 10 to 70 feet high in shrubs and deciduous or coniferous trees; in conifers on the west side of the state they can be very difficult to see. The nest is made of twigs and coarse stems, lined with bark strips and fibers, sometimes mud or earth. Crows build their nests in 5-13 days and they are often used over again in successive years. Watch for crows carrying twigs into trees when they are nest building. Crow fledglings are very noisy. If you hear noisy crows in early summer, they are probably the young birds begging for food at a nearby nest . Crows will build their nest in urban areas where trees are available.

Eastern Gray Squirrels
Eastern gray squirrels typically crawl into holes of trees during winter and build nests out on tree limbs during the summer. Eastern gray squirrels will den in trees year-round, using either natural cavities or leaf nests in mature trees or standing dead trees. Tree cavities must be at least 12 inches deep and have an opening at least 3 inches in diameter. On the west side of the Cascades squirrels may spend the winter in their snug stick nests. Nests are masses, sometimes round looking, about a foot or two in diameter, usually placed on a high limb, made of leaves and twigs and looking much like a crow nest. They build in both conifers and deciduous trees. In warm weather areas, such as the desert and hills east of the Cascades, Eastern gray squirrels will construct flatter loafing platforms or cooling beds in the trees with no hole or cavity. Some of the strong winter nests are permanent and woven together tightly. Eastern gray squirrels are almost exclusively an urban/suburban species.