Date: 3/12/26 5:53 pm From: Dan Talbot <dntalbot...> Subject: Re: [Arlington Birds] Sad News Regarding Arlington Eagle
Very sad news, thank you for the detailed and poignant account, Paul.
On Thu, Mar 12, 2026 at 3:42 PM 'PAUL ROBERTS' via Arlington Birds <
<arlingtonbirds...> wrote:
> I'm sad to report the unexpected death of FAE (Female Adult Eagle), the
> mate of KZ who for six years has been the territorial male of the Mystic
> Lakes. The cause of death is unknown. Her body has been recovered by Mass
> Wildlife and taken to the Wildlife Clinic at Grafton for examination and
> testing. It could be weeks before results are known.
> FAE had been KZ's mate since February 2023, following the
> "recovery/removal" and death of MK, KZ's first mate, from Mt Pleasant
> Cemetery. FAE was in MK's nest with KZ within hours of MK's capture for
> treatment and rehabilitation. They bonded and later copulated. It was
> already late into the local Bald Eagle breeding cycle, with nests usually
> having eggs between mid-February and mid-March. Late February was very late
> to begin, but FAE apparently laid eggs as she and KZ appeared to incubate
> eggs for more than two months without success. Not unexpected.
> In July 2023 the nest MK and KZ had built on top of an old
> Red-tailed Hawk's nest in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery crashed to the ground
> following a soaking rainstorm. The nest, which MK and KZ had expanded every
> year, had simply grown too large and too heavy for the main supporting
> branches, which broke crashing the nest to the ground.
> FAE, whose favorite "break" area had been the pine tree complex where
> MK and KZ had built their first nest on the western shore of the lower
> Mystic Lake, decided to build a new nest in the same tree. She and KZ
> strengthened their bonds as they tore down the unmaintained nest and built
> a new, improved one together in exactly the same location.
> FAE was so named because she had not been banded. She had no
> "history" for us. We have no idea where she was hatched or grew up, and
> when, but I had the impression that she was very intelligent, very wary of
> human beings, and possibly had been mated before. Whatever, she was very
> alert to "eagle events" in the metropolitan area so she was aware when MK
> had not been flying above the canopy for several days and took advantage of
> the opportunity.
> They laid the first egg in late March 2024 and raised three young who
> hatched about an amazing 14 days apart. The kids were banded and fledged.
> The smallest, 91/C fledged first, but broke a wing trying to fly back up
> into the nest. She was recovered and rehabbed by Tufts (Grafton). The other
> two nestlings fledged but died of unknown causes within 100 yards of the
> nest. (There was no evidence of rodenticide poisoning being a factor.)
> In 2025 FAE laid the first egg earlier, around March 8, and fledged
> three kids successfully. All three were banded, and last month 76/C was
> photographed on the Concord River in the Lowell area, the first field
> "report" of any of FAE's kids.
> FAE seemed "experienced," savvy. KZ and I learned that when FAE
> incubated overnight she wanted to be relieved within minutes of dawn.
> Usually the first 5, but at times she would give KZ up to 15 minutes to
> relieve her before her anger became apparent. Twice she laid 3-egg
> clutches, and fledged all 6. She made sure EVERYONE got ample food. When
> the first egg would hatch, she would take only a brief restroom and
> breakfast break before returning to the nest area and doting over the
> kid(s). Last year she seemed perturbed on occasions where she would demand
> that KZ give her the food he had brought in so she could feed each chick
> properly herself. Fledging 3 chicks a year is well above average, and so
> was she.
> I think the last time I saw FAE was Tuesday evening, when she settled
> into her nest. I was hoping she might be readying to lay her first egg of
> the season that night or early the next morning. When I went to look for
> the dawn nest exchange, I did not see her. I saw only KZ posting up near
> the nest, as though he was checking to see if she wanted relief.
> I was hoping to see her incubating, so came back twice during the day
> to check.
> No luck. I saw a few immature eagles that were looking for free meals from
> the "ice out" on the lakes, but no confirmed FAE. Then I saw a kettle of
> six huge, dark birds over the "western ridge." My first thought was Turkey
> Vultures in early March, but they were all eagles, at least two of which
> had some white on their heads, but they were extremely high and distant.
> They probably wouldn't have been seen if I hadn't followed a raven that
> flew a considerable distance and altitude to harass them.
> The light was terrible, but they gradually descended. Three
> continued south while 3 remained around the western ridge. One was KZ, and
> I thought one might be FAE, a large adult female. Then I saw KZ go into the
> nest, to the 10 o'clock branch. An apparent adult female stood up and
> cackled. I thought I saw an Osprey-like stripe on the head like a
> 3-year-old. She took off and flew towards us. As she lifted off the nest, I
> saw she was "salt and pepper" on her underwings. The female in the nest
> with KZ was definitely not FAE. I had not seen any aggression by anyone. I
> knew what this probably meant. I also noticed a thin terminal darkish tail
> band on the eagle. KZ followed her up the upper lake. Meanwhile, I lost
> track of the second larger eagle to the south.
> I was there at dawn this morning. Before sunrise (there was none
> visible) two shadows appeared on the 9 o'clock branch of THE eagle tree. KZ
> and SALT. (Yesterday I tracked her in my notes by a five-letter name that
> rhymes with witch. )
> She had some salt (white feathers exposed) on her back, but not nearly as
> much as on her underwings and breast/belly. At one point she flew south and
> perched on the southwest spruce, where she was joined by another subadult
> female with weak osprey-like eye stripes. Two teenage females looking to
> move into a beautiful gated community with a wealthy, accomplished
> territorial male.
> Ironically, KZ perched not far away. Lower down. In a birch tree on
> the shore. Then Anna Piccolo noticed something on the ground. Black body
> with a white head and tail. FAE's body. KZ perched on the black metal fence
> just a few feet from FAE's remains, as though trying to work his way
> through what he saw. Talking to neighbors on the shore, they remarked about
> an adult eagle spending much of yesterday perched in the birch just feet
> from FAE, but the neighbors did not see the corpse. I felt for KZ.
> I think FAE probably died very early yesterday morning, and that the
> news reached the local "eagle network" within hours. I think we may have
> seen SALT earlier this winter (have to checked my notes and photo
> inventory), but two 3-4 year old females with Osprey-like eye-stripes had
> not been regular in the area the past several weeks. It is not yet clear if
> SALT is KZ's mate of choice, but she is the only one I've seen in the nest
> with KZ. And perched side by side with him in THE eagle tree just after
> dawn. Time will tell. They can't waste much time. Maybe there is time for
> them to bond, copulate frequently, and contribute eggs to the future of the
> species. Scant time. The odds are not good, as they weren't for KZ and FAE
> in 2023, but it helped them bond for 2024 and 2025 and produce 6
> fledfglings in two years. I think KZ grew in wisdom and in stature with
> FAE.
> I'd like to thank Anna Piccolo for sharp spotting of FAE's remains
> about a half mile away this morning, and Chuck Carney for helping me track
> and process two hours of intense activity yesterday afternoon. Also thanks
> to Frank Killoren and especially Jim Renault for their camera work in
> helping identify and track discrete individuals this winter.
> I'll post here any information I receive on FAE's necropsy and tests
> when I receive it.
> I will really miss FAE. I hope we'll hear favorable reports on her
> progeny in the near future. (We spotted a juvenile with a burnt orange Mass
> band on the lakes last week, but we couldn't read the band.)
> I hope KZ will rebound and enjoy a successful, productive sixth year
> on the Mystic Lakes with a new mate.
>
> Best,
> Paul
>
> Paul M. Roberts
> Medford, MA
> <phawk254...>
>
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