Baby bald eagle missing from nest near White Rock Lake

DALLAS — White Rock Lake's bald eagle family was displaced during Tuesday's storm, city officials said.

Brett Johnson, conservation manager at the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, who has been observing the eagles' nesting behaviors since early March, said nearly two-thirds of the eagle family's nest was destroyed and the one of the two new eaglets had not been seen since. storm. The eagle's parents, however, were seen nesting in the same area around the lake, Johnson said.

Johnson and his team, working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, found one of the eaglets and parts of the nest on nearby private property.

“Due to federal laws protecting the nest and its contents, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act), park officials obtained permission from Texas Parks and Wildlife to transfer the eagle to a wildlife rehabilitation center in the region. The current condition of the bird remains unknown,” municipal authorities said in a statement.

Johnson and his team were unable to access the area near the nest due to downed trees, but say they will continue to monitor the area where the nest was found in hopes of finding the second eaglet.

The bald eagle family welcomed the two eaglets to the nest at Lake Highlands Park in March. A pair of bald eagles, consisting of a male and a female, have been spotted near White Rock Lake since late 2020.

Tuesday's storms are not the first time the eagle pair has been displaced. Strong winds destroyed their nest, which contained eggs, in February 2022.