Photo by Lauren Allen.
In 2021, the North Texas housing market was booming and thousands of people and families moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
As it turned out, a pair of bald eagles had similar ideas.
The male and female pair were first sighted near White Rock Lake in late 2021. Their first attempt at a nest was located near Sunset Bay, close to Winfrey Point.
But, as many young potential homeowners experience, getting in the right home can be a difficult task. The first nest didn’t hold up long, and just when the eagles finally seemed to find a home in an abandoned red-tailed hawk nest in Lake Highlands Park, a gust of straight line winds knocked it out of the tree. Remnants of an egg were found close to the debris, and mournful neighbors-turned-enthusiasts put together an impromptu memorial.
Nick and Nora — named after the fictional characters Nick and Nora Charles from Dashiell Hammett’s 1934 novel The Thin Man — eventually returned to Lake Highlands Park. With courtship behavior observed close to Valentine’s Day this year, fans, photographers, city wildlife staff and neighbors alike waited with bated breaths to see if the couple would finally become parents.
In late March, it became clear that something was happening in their nest.
“That was the first time that one of our great citizens was able to get a photograph of it,” says Chris Morris, an urban biologist with Dallas Parks and Recreation. “And one of the other chicks had popped its head out. And then later that week, probably like the seventh of April, someone saw two different movements in the nest. And I think another person was able to get two different heads. So that’s how we knew that we had two chicks.”
Nick and Nora had finally done it. After a series of failed nests and shattered eggs, it seemed as though the young couple could finally raise a few eaglets. Things ran smoothly, and the two hatchlings were seen hopping around.
Then Memorial Day happened.
Heavy rains and hurricane-force winds battered North Texas. Most of their nest — once again — was blown out of the Giant American Sycamore it was nestled in. While the two adult eagles had been strong enough to fly away, there was no sign of the eaglets. It seemed as though Nick and Nora’s stint as parents had yet again met a tragic ending.
The Eagles
Bald eagles, the national symbol of the United States of America, have made tremendous strides since facing extinction in the 20th Century.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, as a result of pesticides, habitat loss and hunting, only 417 nesting pairs were known to exist in 1963. Conservation efforts have been largely successful and bald eagles were recently reclassified from endangered to least concern. However, they are still protected by both the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which makes killing, selling or otherwise harming the eagles a federal crime punishable by jail time or large fines.
As populations have recovered, bald eagle sightings at White Rock Lake are not unprecedented. Typically spotted in one-off instances during the winter, the lake provides ample feeding opportunities for birds of prey.
“White Rock Lake is a pretty decent ecosystem,” Morris says. “It’s just large enough to have several different species of fish, we’ve got all different kinds of wildlife from the snakes, turtles, multiple different waterfowl. The general area also supports several different other raptor species, from red shoulders, red tails, there are several different owl species all throughout there. So there is a large amount of food available.”
What is a little less common, however, is that Nick and Nora have made the urban area their home. Morris says that while it may be rare to see eagles living this close to a city, White Rock Lake Park provides plenty of tree cover and food sources to sustain them, with fish being their staple.
Bald eagles are mostly monogamous, meaning that Nick and Nora have a good chance to remain together for the rest of their lives. To tell which is which, it may be helpful to see them next to each other.
“The females are going to be the larger,” Morris says. “And then one of the things is they have a little bit more of a length in their shoulder wingspan. So definitely when they’re sitting, and if you can see them sitting side by side and stuff like that. The female will be much broader.”
Without that side-by-side comparison, it can be difficult for an untrained eye to spot differences between a male and female.
If neighbors encounter the eagles, Morris says it’s perfectly okay to snap a photo but to avoid loud noises and keep pets on leashes.
The photographers
Nick DiGennaro typically tries to get to Sunset Bay while it’s still pretty dark, but that’s when there’s the most to see.
“I like to get there early though just to kind of get a feel,” DiGennaro says. “You know, that time before dawn is just so magical. So I try to get down there at 6:30, and even if they’re not there I just kind of get a feeling for what’s about to take place or not.”
DiGennaro has photographed the eagles since 2021, and is one of the most dedicated photographers following them. He specializes in photographing birds, saying as subjects, other animals don’t interest him nearly as much.
“It’s something about the flight and just the gorgeous nature of the birds, which I try to portray in the shots,” he says. “And technology actually enables you to do that.”
He says wildlife photography is unique among photography disciplines. For him, while technical knowledge is important, it is crucial to have an understanding of the fauna being photographed. That way, a photographer can become more predictive and proactive in shooting.
One of the most noticeable aspects of Nick and Nora’s time at White Rock Lake: the community of photographers and enthusiasts which has formed around the birds. A Facebook group called “White Rock Lake! thats my hood” which is mostly dedicated to sharing photos of its namesakes’ flora and fauna, especially the eagles, has over eight thousand members. Photographers keep in touch and compare notes.
“It’s amazing. It’s really such a nice group,” DiGennaro says. “It’s really great. The photographers, I didn’t know most of the early ones. But now I get messages every day.”
Another photographer, Mark Fletcher, says that ever since he first started shooting the eagles, the community has only grown closer.
“I think everybody who is a bird photographer there, they made the eagles the photograph subject of choice.” Fletcher says. “And so all of us would be there every day, and we all kind of bonded and became a group of friends throughout the years.”
“Everybody knows everybody. Just last week, I think there were like 20-25 photographers that were there at Sunset Bay on the dock. We’re at a stage right now where [the juvenile] is learning and the parents are teaching the young juvenile how to do that, catching a fish in front of it, and trying to get it to mimic the actions of the parent. So it’s fun to watch the juvenile practice picking things up.”
More eagles at White Rock Lake?
After the nest blew down in May, Parks and Rec staff received a call that a sole eaglet had been found in a neighbor’s back yard. There was no sign of the other one, but the eaglet appeared relatively unharmed. Staff moved quickly, sending it to Blackland Prairie Raptor Center. Luckily, the eaglet had escaped mostly uninjured.
“So now he’s over at Blackland Prairie,” Morris says. “He stays there for a week. It’s like Airbnb. He gets three meals a day, sleeps in, you know, feather cushions and bells and stuff.”
The eaglet of an unidentified sex was named Henley by Raptor Center staff, a nod to Texan rock legend and Eagles frontman Don Henley.
The juvenile was reunited with Nick and Nora shortly after. Although it has certainly learned how to “Fly Like an Eagle,” there are no confirmed reports of the juvenile eagle drumming or singing, thus far. Henley is now learning how to fish and has grown a full coat of feathers. Since it is still under a year old, the plumage around its head is still brown, like most of its feathers. They will begin to whiten fully around five years of age, according to the USFWS.
Looking forward, Morris says that there is little reason to believe Nick and Nora’s family is done growing.
“They’re young, they’re virile.” Morris says. “I keep singing the praises of White Rock Lake, because it is a great ecosystem. There is plenty of opportunity for them to have more clutches.As well as, if the juvenile finds another juvenile, and they make a couple, there may be enough space. There’s plenty of brush overall. There’s red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks and stuff like that. There’s plenty of food there. We may be able to have two eagle couples, I’m not sure.”
Henley reportedly left the lake in early August, but Nick and Nora seem to have finally accomplished something that’s becoming harder and harder these days — they’ve found a home in East Dallas.
