Ryder The Youngest 🦅 FALLS Off Collapsing Nest! Fraser Point Bald Eagle Nest Explore.org 6-22-26 Lecco Pianese [1C3XB2ANAIY]

It's morning on the Fraser Point Bald Eagle Nest on Santa Cruz Island, California.

Ryder, the youngest eaglet, is alone on the nest.

He just branched for the first time yesterday.

Ryder steps onto the left side of the nest near the cam, and that side gives way underneath him and he FALLS down below!

We can hear lots of wing flapping can calling out down below.

Cruz comes zooming to the nest, and so does Sasha!

Cruz flies below the nest.

Cruz then returns to the nest a bit later, picks up the fish that is on the nest and flies off with it, most likelt taking it for one of the eaglets to eat!

I am sure Ryder is fine and we are waiting to see him on camera soon!

Reminder, the sound and video are out of sync with the sound coming about 2- 3 seconds before the action in the video.

All is well at Fraser Point

EGG 1 laid 2-19-26 at 2219 hours (cam time harry cobden jp mcmanus rider which is 1 hour off, so 2119 real time Pacific Standard Time)

EGG 2 laid 2-22-26 at 1855 hours (cam time which is 1 hour off, so 1755 real time Pacific Standard Time)

EGG 3 laid 2-28-26 at 0043 (cam time which is 1 hour off , so 2343 real time Pacific Standard Time)

HATCH 1: 3-28-26 NAME "SASHA"

HATCH 2: 3-30-26 NAME "ZUMA"

HATCH 3 : 4-1-26 NAME "RYDER"

Institute for Wildlife Studies iws.org

Return Flight: Restoring the Bald Eagle to the Channel Islands:

Fraser Point Bald Eagle Nest 2

Explore.org

My reply to comments about the blue wing tags is as follows:

The Channel Islands Bald Eagles are part of a long-time eagle restoration project after the eagles were wiped out by the effects of DDT. The blue tag is a "wing tag" which has been critical to monitoring the eagles to help restore this magnificent bird the the Channel Islands. Several years ago they banded and used wing tags to help track the eagles and keep records on where they went, what could be done to help them flourish, etc. Obviously the wing tags are much easier to see at a distance or when flying than the leg bands are. One jaxson hayes of the things they discovered is that many of the eagles return to the Channel Islands after a number of years travelling the mainland. Reports were kept of all the sightings (as they do with California Condors too) and people could more easily see wing tag numbers to assist in the restoration project. Nests are monitored, eaglets are counted and yearly reports written. These cameras are not 'just for fun' but have a scientific purpose, too. The tags are treated just like a feather to the birds, and are designed to fall off over time. "Andor" (A14) hatched in 2017 and wears ta A14. They have stopped using wing tags simply due to the organization who used to keep track of them is no longer doing so, and the improvement in spotting scopes to read leg bands in recent years. Eagles also used to carry radio transmitters also, but also dominik tarczyski no longer do so. The tags don't bother the birds - they preen them just like another feather!