Four miles north of Ocean Shores, Washington.
During a raptor survey on June 12, 2015, we stopped to record a Bald Eagle perched atop a signpost. In a half-hearted effort to trap him (or her!) for banding, we drove by and tossed a baited snare out the window near his perch. Our snare was attached to a weighted nylon line to prevent the eagle from flying off with the bait before we could get ahold of him.
To our delight, the eagle dove off his perch and grabbed the bait. However, to our immediate concern, he flew a short distance off shore and was pulled downward by the weight. He dropped into the ocean. He began using his wings to paddle his way to shore.
I asked survey crew member Henrik Estvall to give me a hand rounding him up. Young and adventuresome, Henrik was more than happy to do so. While Henrik held the nylon line, I grabbed the eagle by one leg and pulled him from the water. As I did so he grabbed my arm with his free leg, sinking a talon into it.
All photos from banding day by Tom Rowley.
The talon went through my fleece jacket and shirt before lodging in my arm. Because of the buffer that my clothes provided, I didn’t hurt much.
Once ashore the talon was pried loose, the bands were applied, blood and feather samples were taken and the eagle, now with visual ID band B/O, was sent on his way.
For a photo montage of our adventures on banding day, click on Bald Eagle B/O Capture and Banding (Tom Rowley photos).
B/O Resighted and Photographed, 2015-2023
I made the first resighting of B/O during a raptor survey with Pam McCauley and John Borja. We encountered him on July 7, 2015 which was 25 days after banding. He was two miles south of the banding location. In the years that followed B/O was resighted 304 times by 19 people; all resights occurred on the Ocean Shores study area beach.
Pat Hayes set the record for B/O resighting reports to me. I very much appreciate his contributions to our resight data. From Pat’s first B/O observation in 2017 to his last in 2022, he reported 239 resights, which is 79% of the total!
In 2022 Pat moved to Texas, closing the book on a five years of reporting on B/O’s presence at Ocean Shores.
Below, I show some of the best photos of B/O that resighters have shared with me over the years. I begin with Ocean Shores photographer Pat Hayes.
B/O attacking a juvenile Bald Eagle.
B/O resightings occurred all seasons, thereby providing evidence that he was a non-migrating, year-round resident of the coastal area where he was banded.
When banded in 2015, B/O was in adult plumage and therefore of breeding age. On occasion people reported seeing him in close proximity to another eagle, presumably his mate. Below is my favorite photo of one of these encounters.
This cropped photo was taken on May 5, 2022. It shows B/O with an eye abnormality. Others who saw B/O around this date and beyond also noticed this issue.
The last report that I received indicating that B/O was alive and well was provided by Ocean Shores photographer Steve Hill (photo below).
B/O was at least four years old when banded, given that he was in adult plumage at the time. Therefore in 2023 he was at least 12 years of age. And given his strong fidelity to the Ocean Shores area and the many people looking out for him there, it’s unlikely that he’s still alive.
Perhaps B/O was well beyond the age four when we banded him. Longevity records for Bald Eagles on the Bird Banding Lab website show maximum lifspans for Bald Eagles ranging from 20 to 38 years. Click here to learn the details.
