Sharing photos on social media, many around Bancroft and Barry’s Bay are saying they have noticed the birds more in the last few years.
We spoke with Wendy Richardson from the Paudash area who said she has been seeing them for several years now on the lake.
Up until recently she says there was a nest in a lakeside tree, but the eagles moved after the tree got damaged.
“It was in Joe Bay and it was very well known. Everybody would watch the birds. Sometimes you could see two of them sitting up there and you could tell that there were eaglets in there as well. So it was really spectacular, and sad when it disappeared.”
Wendy says that the eagles are still on the lake. “They’re around soaring pretty well every day. At some point in time you’ll see them flying around Paudash.”
We spoke with her one day this fall just after she captured a photo of one perched in a pine tree.
“And I saw this guy just fly in and he just sat there and chewed away on whatever he caught. I was able to get really close to it.”
According to ontario.ca, bald eagles nest in a variety of habitats and forest types, almost always near a major lake or river where they do most of their hunting.
While fish are their main source of food, eagles can easily catch prey up to the size of ducks, and frequently feed on dead animals, including white-tailed deer.
They usually nest in large trees such as pine and poplar.
