A pair of eagles are appearing almost daily at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark and Donna and Ray Riddlebarger are taking some incredible photographs of them.
According to Jim Weller “the eagle in the image above is Orv, the Carillon Park male. He visits Wegerzyn daily to keep an eye on the nomadic eagles that pass through in the fall and winter. There are a number of juvenile, immature, sub-adult and adult bald eagles that have found the tornado damaged trees there to be excellent perches. The Eastwood nest has fledged 18 eaglets since 2011 and should produce more in 2020. They were Dayton’s first resident eagles in 7 decades! Both Carillon eaglets were lost last year but they successfully fledged 2 this past summer. I fully expect that Wegerzyn, Triangle or Island park will have a nesting pair within a few years. Please be aware though that disturbing nesting eagles is a federal crime and just a few minutes of exposure to the elements may destroy the embryonic or recently hatched eaglet. Carillon Park (where I serve as their ‘eagle expert’) is unique in that the breeding adults there are so accustomed to human activity in the area that eagle watchers produce no stress for the birds. Please, never approach an isolated nest or a perched eagle. Eagles can safely be viewed within parks from a reasonable distance or anywhere along our river systems. They are simply majestic! Here is a closer look at Orv for identification. The darkness near his nares is key.”
