Bald eagles mating

On B2 of yesterday’s Times-Dispatch, environment reporter Rex Springston wrote that the popular eagle cam, a joint project of the T-D and the Center for Conservation Biology, won’t be back in 2013.

Virginia and James have apparently left the Eagle Cam nest for a more secluded part of the city, said eagle expert Bryan Watts.

Watts said they hope to re-start the cam project in 2014 with a new nest somewhere between Richmond and Hopewell.

Last year’s nest location was withheld, but if you knew what to look for, it wasn’t very difficult to find. It was on private property near the canal in southern Windsor Farms. In his piece, Springston wrote that people have reported seeing eagles building a nest nearby, in a wild area closer to the river.

I had my suspicions for where that might be, so I went for a drive to take a look. Sure enough, I saw an eagle flying around above Williams Island this afternoon. If you’re not familiar with the name Wiliams Island, you’ve probably seen it without realizing it. Click here to learn more.

It should be a fun eagle-watching season both on Williams Island and Cooper’s Island downstream near the Nickel Bridge, where multiple unsuccessful nesting attempts have been made in years past