. Birds in Kansas. Birds -- Kansas Identification. 134 BIRDS IN KANSAS. Period of Occurrence: Most sight- ings are between mid-October and mid-March, with extreme dates of 5 September and 8 May. Summer records need verifica- tion. Breeding: The Bald Eagle builds a huge nest of sticks and weeds lined with dried grass. It is typically in a large tree 50 or more feet above ground. It usually lays two eggs (one to three), which are pure white, are often stained by the nest lining, and are small for such a large bird. Both sexes share the incubation period of about 35 days. Young leave the nest in
. Birds in Kansas. Birds -- Kansas Identification. 134 BIRDS IN KANSAS. Period of Occurrence: Most sight- ings are between mid-October and mid-March, with extreme dates of 5 September and 8 May. Summer records need verifica- tion. Breeding: The Bald Eagle builds a huge nest of sticks and weeds lined with dried grass. It is typically in a large tree 50 or more feet above ground. It usually lays two eggs (one to three), which are pure white, are often stained by the nest lining, and are small for such a large bird. Both sexes share the incubation period of about 35 days. Young leave the nest in about three months. Bent (1937) described the "great nest" near Vermil- ion, Ohio, which was occupied for at least 35 years before being blown down by a storm in 1925. It measured 12 feet in depth and 8 xh feet across at the top. The nest was placed 81 feet above ground in a shagbark hickory tree. There are vague unverified references to Bald Eagle nestings during pioneer days but no recent reports of successful ones. How- ever, Bald Eagles occasionally build nests in Kansas, and their recent nesting in east-central Oklahoma suggested that they might be suc- cessful here soon. From 1957 to 1962, H. A. Stephens (1966) checked eagle nests at 12 Kansas localities and saw Bald Eagles associated with several; he saw one carrying a stick. The nests were apparently built during late winter, but no eggs were ever seen. Another was built in flooded timber at the Neosho Wildlife Man- agement Area, Neosho County, during the winter of 1965-66. In late March or early April 1989 a nesting attempt was reported by John Burghart and sons, who found a nest attended by adults on the Deer Creek arm of Clinton Reservoir in Douglas County. State and federal officials confirmed the nesting (photos by Mike Blair) and cordoned off the nest to prevent disturbance of the nesting pair. At this writing the nest contents have not been determined, but dozens of visitors have observed the birds from
Size: 2198px × 1137px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodiversity, bookcontributorharv
