Update 3/6/2015: Prince William Times agrees that the City of Manassas should hold off on construction until late Summer, when the fledglings have left the nest. Here's the story.
Update 3/2/2015: Video I just shot today of the loud construction going on in front of the eagles nest. What if that pounding causes an egg to crack? Or spooks the adult to crack the eggs by accident? Or makes them leave the nest so the eggs freeze?
Update 3/1/2015: Poem I wrote for the eagles. Feel free to share the link.
Update 2/27/2015: It is my hope that the City of Manassas patiently follows the guidelines laid out by the Department of Fish and Game and hold off on any further construction until the eggs have hatched and the young have left the nest, which would be sometime around July or August. Or, even better, buy up the few acres in front of the nest and extend the parkland to protect these birds and their offspring for generations to come. Look for articles on this in the Prince William Times and Manassas Observer soon.
It was just two months ago when a friend pointed out to me that there is a giant bald eagle's nest near the DMV in Manassas, Virginia. Of course, I had to get these amazing birds on film. What I discovered is that the pair have raised young in this one location for several years. One of the workers at the NEC building across the street enthusiastically shared stories of watching last year's young hatch, as well as the parents foraging for food and feeding the eaglets.
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| Photo of the eagle parents taken by Ann McIntyre on January 19, 2015 |
Now I drive by this past week and see several construction vehicles parked in front of these few precious acres, and a For Sale sign for the plots. Please don't tell me that Weber Rector is actually going to tear down this habitat and destroy the home of our national bird. The pair of eagles is about to hatch new young as I write this. I plead for the news media to investigate and for public outcry to prevent this from happening.
Update 2/24/15: Google Map shows construction NOT outside the required 660-foot buffer zone for work near an eagle's nest. The media is reporting that it is. It clearly is NOT. Try about 250 feet.
Update 2/24/15: Google Map shows construction NOT outside the required 660-foot buffer zone for work near an eagle's nest. The media is reporting that it is. It clearly is NOT. Try about 250 feet.
Below is the video I shot of the eagles on Feb. 4, 2015.
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They are sitting on eggs and it is a federal law to down a tree or area where there are birds nesting till they have fledged. In 1919 the law was adopted to protect birds especially Raptors being invaded by man. This nest was built by the Eagle pair in 2013 (Oct) with a pair of Eaglets born in April and fledged in Oct-Nov. Now there is second set by the same pair of Eagles. Someone needs to alert the authorities Raptor Society will certainly help.
ReplyDeleteSeEtta Moss "The Bald and Golden Eagle Act prohibits anyone from taking, possessing, or transporting a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) or golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), or the parts, nests, or eggs of such birds without prior authorization. This includes inactive nests as well as active nests. Take means to pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, destroy, molest, or disturb. Activities that directly or indirectly lead to take are prohibited without a permit." http://www.fws.gov/.../midwestbird/EaglePermits/index.html
ReplyDeleteUSFWS Midwest Region - Bald and Golden Eagle Permits
Web site of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
fws.gov|By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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Rest easy. The trees concerned are within a City park. The land for sale is next to that park.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what city park you're talking about, Mark Wolfe. The eagle's nest is on the road toward the Manassas Airport. I see no park there. I mean, the nest is right there. And construction in front of it will certainly disturb that nest, as well as destroy its hunting habitat.
DeleteMaybe reach out to https://www.facebook.com/Raptorsva to see what they say and if they'll help spread the word?
DeleteThis is Coleman Rector w/ Weber Rector Commercial Real Estate. We are aware of the situation, we have been in touch w/ National Fish and Wildlife this morning and VA Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries was on the site this morning as well. The tree that the nest is in is actually on property owned by the City of Manassas behind the property our sign is on. The construction equipment is from a communication company (most likely a Verizon subcontractor) working in the easement laying fiber or some form of communication line. Neither Weber Rector or the property owner have anything to do with the construction equipment or the laying of the communication lines. The City of Manassas, Federal Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and the VA Dept. of Game and Fisheries all are aware of the situation and are looking into it. Weber Rector is happy to cooperate in any way as to the preservation of our great National Bird. Thank you all for your concern, message received.
DeleteWe are grateful that you are all on the same page. Thank you so very much for your response. Please don't let the ball drop on this one. Those eaglets should be born about March/April but won't fledged till Nov when the parent put them out. Thank you again.
DeleteI just confronted one of the contractors on the site who showed a less than caring attitude toward the eagles. He told me to contact the City of Manassas, that they were laying down power lines. From what I read in the Federal Protection Laws for Bald Eagles, there must be someone from Fisheries and Wildlife or an expert monitoring the situation during any construction, but I also read that there is to be NO construction, at all, within 330 feet of an active eagle nest. This nest is active. I watched one of the eagles carrying nesting materials as I spoke to that man.
DeleteVictor, I have an email from the Communications Director of Manassas City. They are working on a solution. We have to give them time to work on a resolution. Thank you for caring about our wildlife too. I have contacted and made aware of to every available persons I know. I am trying. Thanks.
DeleteVictor and Bev . . . Thank you for what you're doing! I've been dealing with the City of Manassas for YEARS . . . I suggest you organize, and attend the next City Council meeting. Request to be put on the agenda, and make a presentation. Fill the room with people to comment during Public Comment time who support the eagles. Contact any an all news organizations you can find. Radio, TV, newspapers . . . I've done this before, and it works. You have to use the "sledge hammer" approach on this one! I work at the airport, and just happened to see one of the eagles do a low pass by my window, carrying something. What a beautiful sight! I know EXACTLY where you're talking about with regard to the nest. You're right. If the tree is on city property, it's very near, if not ON, a perimeter line. I saw people taking pictures there last year, and wondered what was there. Now, I know! They're beautiful! I've see a lot of displacement of wildlife at the airport over the last few years. We used to have a lot finches that would fill the trees by my office. I haven't seen them for a while. Hopefully they'll be back this spring.
DeleteHere is a link to the City of Manassas website, with contact information for Mayor Parrish and all members of the Council. On that page, if you click on "Council Meetings", center left, it will bring up their calendar. Generally, they meet the 2nd of 4th Mondays at 5:30 in the City Hall building.
http://www.manassascity.org/index.aspx?nid=153
Maybe reach out to https://www.facebook.com/Raptorsva to see what they say and if they'll help spread the word?
ReplyDeleteI think the lots that are for sale are in front of the stand of trees where the nest is. See this link: http://www.landandfarm.com/property/Gateway_Business_Park-234782/
ReplyDeleteI work in a nearby office building and have watched these birds for the last couple of years. I hope that any new construction won't scare them away. Thanks for posting the great pictures and video!
There are still laws preventing the construction of any sort within 330 feet of an active eagle nest. The nest is probably less than 330 feet from the road, which would include the plots for sale in front of it.
DeleteI think you may know who we are. Last year there was about 12 of us watching these beautiful birds in the evening. We were in awe. A lady who works in the buildings and her boss welcomed us to park there, use the restroom and were just very happy to see others delight in watching these wonderful creatures. We are on top of this and trying to see what the City of Manassas will do. I have also contacted Fish and Game in Richmond and reported it.
DeleteI dropped a note to raptorsva@aol.com with a link to this blog entry.
ReplyDeleteHere's what raptorsva replied with:
ReplyDeleteHi:
Thanks for your interest and the info on the bald eagle habitat. This, of course, is a real concern. However, as a non profit, we cannot lead any charge in such a situation.
I would suggest that you call the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries office in Fredericksburg. Their number I believe is 540-899-4169. You can speak with anyone there. Jeff Cooper is the VDGIF eagle person, but he is often in the field and not in the office.
I would also suggest that you contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service office in Richmond. They have cognizance over all eagle issues. I believe their number is 804-314-0470.
Please do follow up. You are in the best position to move forward oaths matter!
Thanks.
Kent Knowles
I have done that and US Fish and Wildlife called me this afternoon and it has gone to the Federal Government for review. I got a call from the newspaper to do a story, I also got a call from the Manassas City councilman following up to see if I had made progress. At this point, I have done all that I can do and will let the wheels turn and hope that it is all good that comes from this situation. I tried. Thank you all.
DeleteBev's photo treasures thank you for keeping this moving forward. Its a law so why isn't law enforcement enforcing it?! Shameful!
ReplyDeleteThe nest is on Manassas City park land and will be left alone. The picture above with the construction equipment is very deceiving. The nest is actually much further away than it looks here. The construction equipment is there from contractors for the City of Manassas that are only laying cable along the Gateway Blvd to supplement power to the airport.
ReplyDeleteAs provided by the link below, there is a Federal Law that states how far construction activities must be from an active eagle's nest. The construction that the City of Manassas is performing is under the 660-foot buffer zone, so they are violating the guidelines.
DeleteVictor, I got a call from Fish and Game. The officer is monitoring the area and measured it himself and it is withinn their guidelines. He will continue to monitor and asked that we leave the workers alone. They are being paid to do a job and is withing the guidelines and numerous agencies are all working together for the habitat. If we respect the fact that they are on top of it and continue to let them do what they know, we can achieve in the long run protection and peace. While he was out there, there were ordinary people walking under the nest and we have been asked to not do that. We should abide by the sames rules that they are trying to enforce. I will back off at this point and let them do their job as law enforcement for our wildlife. I brought attention to the situation and have heard from about 4 agencies and I think we accomplished what I wanted to do for the birds.
Deletehttp://www.fws.gov/northeast/ecologicalservices/eagleguidelines/constructionnesting.html
ReplyDeleteI just added a picture to this blog post so you can clearly see that construction is as close as 250 feet away. Insidenova news is erroneously reporting it to be outside a 660-foot buffer zone.
ReplyDeleteThanks again and happy to hear that fish and game is monitoring.
ReplyDeleteA NEC employee first named them Elvis and Priscilla as she is a follower of the "King". But her patriotic sign won out and she changed the names to Freedom and Glory
ReplyDeleteI love these birds as much as anyone. I work nearby and look for them each time I drive by. I want to point out that the birds built their nest within 250 feet of very active train tracks which both VRE and freight trains use (these are shown in the Google picture above near the words "conclusion") and a very active airport. So I am thinking that they may not be as bothered by current or potential construction as much as us mere human think they are.
ReplyDeleteTrue, but those were there prior to their nest selection. It has no bearing on future construction, which is supposed to follow Protection Laws. And we don't know how the fledglings will be affected once they hatch.
DeleteSomeone has obviously gotten the attention of the City of Manassas. Their website: http://www.manassascity.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1629 has this posted on it.
ReplyDelete"The City of Manassas is aware that we have a nesting pair of bald eagles on what we believe to be the City’s property at Cannon Branch Fort. This pair has been nesting in that area for several years. This is City parkland and will not be developed. The property adjacent to Cannon Branch Fort is private property that is having some utility work done in the easements alongside the road. At this point, no site permits have been issued for this property. However, the City follows the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Guide for Landowners regarding the management of bald eagle nests, concentration areas, and communal roosts and will work with eventual developers to follow these guidelines and other applicable state and federal laws if this property is developed in the future."