No eaglets this time for D.C.'s most famous bald eagle couple

Washington Post

13 hours ago

D.C.'s most famous winged couple — two bald eagles — were left with an empty nest this spring, disappointing those who had hoped to see them produce eaglets.
Mr. President and Lotus — short for Lady of the United States — previously had several years of successful egg laying and hatching at a nest about 70 feet up in a white oak tree on the sprawling grounds of the U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington. This spring, experts thought Mama Lotus had laid at least one egg, and maybe two, and eaglets were expected to hatch in early April.
But recently, after observing the eagle pair for weeks, the city's wildlife biologist, Dan Rauch, declared they had produced no offspring this season. He couldn't say definitively what happened to the eggs or possible eaglets that hatched.
'It's all unknown,' said Rauch. 'Everything seemed to be working fine. They seemed to be good, just as they had in the past. It is just a big mystery.'
Some possibilities: A raccoon could have gotten into the nest and eaten the eaglets. An owl or a hawk may have swooped in and gotten a chick when the parents were out of the nest gathering food. Or the egg (or eggs) simply didn't hatch.
Typically, experts do an annual 'eagle flyover' in a helicopter for a bird's-eye view of the nest, which overlooks the Langston Golf Course, to try to learn more. But after the fatal midair collision of a commercial airplane and a helicopter in January at Reagan National Airport, there have been restrictions on helicopters in the area, and experts weren't able to do the flyover.
Plus, there's no longer a 24-hour live feed from a web camera in a tree near the nest to give wildlife lovers and experts a close-up view. Rauch has done his observations and analysis from the ground using a lens scope and binoculars. He's found the best position to see the eagle pair is along the tee box of the golf course's 15th hole.
Earlier this spring, there were signs the pair appeared to be tending to a nest. Bald eagles have a 34- to 36-day gestation period. At one point, Rauch said, he noticed Lotus was 'sitting up higher in the nest,' presumably covering chicks that had possibly hatched. A few times, he saw Mr. President, also known as Mr. P, and Lotus flying together — a good sign they were tending to the nest and possible eaglets.
But a few weeks later, there were no signs of the parents at the nest.
Eventually, he noticed a new eagle, possibly a 4-year-old female, that should not have been in the nest pop its head up.
'At that point,' Rauch said, 'all signs were that the nest had failed.' The 4-year-old, Rauch said, was probably passing through the area and stopped at the nest.
Rauch said he saw Mr. President in mid-May at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, not far from the nest at the arboretum. He was trying to steal fish from ospreys. 'He'd harass them in hopes of a dropped catch,' Rauch said.
As for Lotus, he hasn't seen her in weeks.
Bald eagles have made a hugely successful comeback across the country and in the D.C. region due to several factors: bans on pesticides, the passage of the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s, improvements to their habitats, and clean air and water efforts.
Nationally, there were 71,000 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the Lower 48 based on data from 2018 to 2019 — a major comeback from the 1960s, when there were fewer than 500 breeding pairs, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bald eagles were removed from the endangered species list in 2007, but they remain protected under several federal laws. The bald eagle officially became the national bird last December when President Joe Biden signed a bill.
In the D.C. region, Rauch said this spring there were 23 other active bald eagle nests.
One nest, located at the northern end of Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in Alexandria, Virginia, had three eaglets hatch this year, Rauch said, making it the third year in a row there were triplets at the nest.
At the arboretum, Mr. President has quite a legacy.
He and his original partner — First Lady — met in December 2013 and built a nest that winter near the arboretum's azalea garden. It marked the first time a bald eagle pair had set up a nest at the arboretum in more than 60 years. Experts said bald eagles have adapted to downtown areas like D.C. and become more equipped to handle noise and air traffic.
Mr. President and First Lady had their first eaglet in 2014 and went on to have a total of eight hatch. They had their last chick in 2018, and it later died of West Nile virus. Bald eagles typically mate for life as long as they're successful having eaglets together. But if there's a problem, they're known to switch up and find new partners.
Mr. President's relationship with First Lady became rough after they failed to produce more offspring. First Lady would take off in warmer months and come back in the fall. During one of her trips away, Mr. President had other female suitors in the nest.
At times, First Lady would chase off her mate's suitors with her 'talons out,' flying toward the nest at 50 to 60 mph, Rauch said. The two reconciled, but she laid no more eggs. Then on Valentine's Day 2022, she flew the coop for good.
The next day, Lotus moved in.
About two years ago, the pair moved to a new nest overlooking the golf course, about a mile as the eagle flies from their old nest. Experts decided not to install another camera at their new abode, which is in a more secluded, wooded area of the arboretum.
Lotus is now 8 years old, and Mr. P is believed to be 16 or 17 — a bit on the older side for bald eagles, which typically live to be about 20, Rauch said.
'I'll be looking to see if I can find them together again,' he said. 'Hopefully, they try again next year.'