Sammamish Eagle Nest Gone, Eaglets Fledged

A week ago on Wednesday July 12, I arrived at the Redmond Central Connector bridge at about 1 pm.  At that time, the eagle nest was still intact.  

I left and returned to the same location at about 5 pm.  The partial collapse of the nest had somehow occurred during that interval.  The above photo was taken at that time.  In it, you can see that evidently one of the eaglets had flown out of the nest and landed on the branch of a nearby tree.  The other eaglet had remained on top of the partially collapsed nest, as you can see.  I departed from the scene shortly thereafter.

I returned again on Friday, July 14.  The eaglets were nowhere to be seen, and most of the rest of the nest had fallen away, as you can see below:  

A day or two later, I learned that a friend had subsequently seen both eaglets and parents in or near the nest tree, and that they took off for parts unknown.  So far as I know, they have not been seen again.

It's a mystery to me as to why the nest partially collapsed in the afternoon of July 12, 2023.

-- Story and photos by John Reinke, 7/19/23