For the first time in modern recorded history, Bald Eagles constructed a nest in the Cedarburg Bog in
2020. John O’Donnell and Braden Meyer observed the Bald Eagles building the nest through most of
March 2020. They were also seen copulating around the time the nest was completed. However, the
eagles abandoned the nest shortly after it was built. The nest was located near the top of a large and very
old birch tree on an island near Mud Lake (aptly referred to as “Birch Island”). Within two or three months of the nest being abandoned, one of the limbs supporting the nest broke, and the nest came down with the limb. It is possible that the female eagle didn’t feel secure with the site, with the tree location, or with the tree itself. Or one of the pair of eagles may have died.
Adult eagle sightings are still pretty regular in and around the bog, so it is entirely possible that a pair of
eagles are still around and perhaps nesting in a remote part of the Bog. However, in the course of a
number of bird surveys in and around the Bog, no nest has been found to date.
(Photo credit: John O’Donnell)
