According to the Orange County Register, the Golden Eagles have been spotted in Orange County again!
From the article:
“…They are among the largest birds of prey in North America, with wingspans up to 7 1/2 feet. When they spot a rabbit that whets their appetite, they can dive at speeds of 120 mph. They are also monogamous, often mating with the same partner for life.
Golden eagles have always called Orange County home. They’ve become increasingly tough to spot here, though, as development drives them farther into Cleveland National Forest – or keeps them away altogether.
“It’s extremely difficult for anybody to go out and find a golden eagle in Orange County,” said Peter Bloom, a raptor expert and founder of Bloom Biological Inc., a research and consulting firm based in Lake Forest. “They are rare, and they nest in remote parts of the county.”
Bird enthusiasts have had a recent streak of good luck in spotting a pair of golden eagles near Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary in Modjeska Canyon. The pair was seen there in 2012 and recently turned up again, according to Director Karon Cornell.
“They nest somewhere on top of a hill you can see if you stand in the street in front of our museum,” said Cornell, who saw them on a recent sunny morning.
There are four pairs of golden eagles that nest within Orange County, according to Bloom. They don’t necessarily nest here every year, though, using their staked territories as hunting sites during years they don’t produce offspring.
Along with the Modjeska Canyon site, Bloom said, there are active territories in Gypsum Canyon, Black Star Canyon and near the Audubon Starr Ranch Sanctuary in Trabuco Canyon. Each pair of eagles claims a territory averaging 20 square miles, Bloom said. He is hesitant to share the location of historic nesting sites within these areas…”
You can read the entire article HERE.