Until now, bald eagles using saguaro cacti in Arizona for nesting was a long-time speculation. On Wednesday, the Arizona Game and Fish Department [AZGFD] announced that they finally have proof after a rare sighting.
AZGFD says its biologists searched historical records for another instance of the rare sight. All they found was a record in 1937 of a man who saw nests in saguaros along the lower Verde River that were believed to be that of bald eagles, but there was no further documentation.
Biologists have long speculated eagles could make nests in the arms of a saguaro and were searching for decades.
“It’s been an 18-year trek for me, keeping my eye out for a bald eagle nest in a saguaro, so finally finding one is amazing,” AZGFD’s raptor management coordinator Kenneth “Tuk” Jacobson said.
How Arizona is this! Our eagle survey team captured this image of a bald eagle family nesting in the arms of a saguaro – a rare sight! In fact, it's the first time an image of eagles nesting in a saguaro has been captured in Arizona. pic.twitter.com/OmXRGi9mVE
— Arizona Game & Fish (@azgfd) April 16, 2020
