Meeting a bald eagle family in Whitehorse
I said in my last post that the next one would be about riding the White Pass & Yukon Route train to Skagway, but I was wrong. The day before than (Saturday, May 16th) I went for a walk at the difficult-to-access southern part of the Whitehorse airport trail system and was rewarded by finding a bald eagle nest with both adults, and 3 chicks.
The day began for me with a trip in to the City of Whitehorse Land and Buildings Services office.
While I’ve been to that office many times, this was a very special visit. It was the last day of work for Cathy Dyson, Land Development Supervisor. I am Cathy’s husband, and she is now retired! We are both excited and overwhelmed by the possibilities that life now offers, and you’ll be seeing some of the results here over the coming years 🙂
I am so deeply happy for Cathy. All that week, the people she’s worked with had been showering her with cards and gifts and messages of love and respect. She lamented a while ago that I have built a legacy but she hadn’t. This is proving what I told her to be correct – the people she’s worked with will never forget her. The old saying that people quit managers, not jobs, is very true, but nobody ever quit Cathy. I am so proud of her for making a difference.
This little-used trail starts at the south end of the Robert Service Way ball diamonds, at the south edge of downtown Whitehorse.
The trail isn’t used much because it’s so steep. The first part is even steeper than this but I couldn’t find a photo angle to show that.
About 2/3 of the way up there’s a panoramic view of the entire Yukon Energy operation, from the offices and both portable and stationary diesel generators on the left, to the hydro dam and LNG generators, with Schwatka Lake backed up behind the dam.
The trail levels out for a bit then heads up again, though not nearly as steeply.
A bench at the next level spot provides a nice scenic break.
An aviation-related project in recent years topped thousands of trees. I don’t recall seeing any details about it. There’s enough firewood laying around the last me for years.
This is a particularly nice section of the trail. The trails along the southern part of the airport are now isolated – from the Alaska Highway by construction, and from the northern trails by landslides. Some day, I expect that the landslide section will be re-routed and the construction will end.
Landslides have become more and more a problem in recent years – the next photo looks straight down the first large one. Luckily it didn’t reach Robert Service Way.
The broad views over the Yukon River are lovely.
The first landslide detour of the trail.
A closer look at the SS Klondike and the hospital, at 105mm. The building on the right is a residence for visiting medical staff.
This is the main landslide area. A steel retaining wall can be seen along the road right below, and in the distance a concrete retaining wall that saved the road from being closed less than weeks ago (on May 4th). The water level in the Yukon River is exceptionally low right now – even more so than normal at this time of year, I think. The high country around Whitehorse got a good dump of snow today, and we even got a bit in town, so the big melt is a ways off yet.
With the main trail slid away, I was soon over on the airport perimeter road.
Some attempts have been made to modify the slope to lessen slides, including this terrace.
Past that terrace, the trail has slid away right up to the airport fence so I headed back.
It was on the way back to my car that I saw the bald eagle nest. There was a bench close by that offered a convenient spot to put on my 100-400mm lens. Three chicks – wow!
The next photo is heavily cropped to get you closer. From what I saw, I don’t think the third chick is going to survive – that is unfortunately quite normal with bald eagles.
I initially thought that she was feeling threatened by something, but then realized she was calling her mate, and she took off to join him for a few minutes, though never going far from her babies.
Watching the pair of them soar above me was wonderful.
Returning to the nest. What a magnificent bird.
I was very tired by now, and only took a couple of photos on the way back to the car, including these Prairie crocuses. Show with the big lens because I was too tired to change it 🙂
I feel incredibly blessed to be able to spend time with this family, and I’ll be back so I can show you more in the coming weeks 🙂
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Great post, Murray! I finally made it up this trail and to the nest on May 24. Thanks for alerting us. I spent 2.5 hrs observing this amazing avian family. It was a magical experience but not easy to watch at times. There are still three young but a strong pecking order may threaten survival of one or even two.
Thanks, Ray. I’m glad you made it to the nest – I think having 3 chicks survive is rare. 🙁
Congratulations Cathy!! Here’s to more adventures! The eagle photos are so beautiful!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Murray, Glad the eagles are doing well! Great for Cathy – Congratulations. Love it that you are hiking some. Carol from Tennessee
Hi Carol! It’s great to see you here. We starting chatting shortly after the Internet was invented, I think 🙂
Congratulations on Cathy’s retirement. Always look forward to your posts.
Thank you, Patsy – from both of us 🙂