Bald Eagle Nest at Radnor Lake State Natural Area
On January 27th, the State of Tennessee announced that Radnor Lake State Natural Area is now home to an American Bald Eagle nest. This new nest, being constructed over the past two weeks, has been monitored daily by the state park ranger staff. According to State Ornithologist David Hanni with Tennessee Wildlife Resources, this nest is the closest to the State Capitol and the 4th registered in Davidson County.
Visitors may have noticed new signage that states “Bald Eagle Protection Area”. In the coming days, the park staff will also be installing US Fish and Wildlife Bald Eagle Nesting signage along the lake trail. These were all funded thanks to a generous grant from the Barbara J. Mapp Foundation, Friends of Radnor Lake and individual donors who contributed to Giving Tuesday (December 2nd, 2021). We worked to raise funds to be able to move forward on our resource management plan for welcoming our resident eagles if/when they chose a nest site at Radnor Lake. Thank you to everyone who worked together to provide us this needed funding in anticipation of this event on our Giving Tuesday fundraiser!
Where can I see the eagles?
Moving forward, the park ranger staff will be conducting daily interpretive spotting scope programs at different times of day which will be dependent upon activity, weather, etc. The best/closest locations for viewing the eagles nesting on the lake are as follows:
1. Lake Trail Observation Deck (highlighted in yellow on map above).
2. Interior closed to vehicle section of Otter Creek Road (highlighted in yellow on the map above). This is the closest viewing area to the new nest and is wheelchair friendly.
Thankfully, our two eagle residents could not have chosen a better location for our visitors to view this historic event!
We need your help!
Moving forward, the key to our resident eagles successfully nesting at Radnor Lake is to be undisturbed from any unauthorized use. Examples include:
Off-trail activity
Use of drones
Night-time use
In addition to daily hiking patrols, the park ranger staff will utilize a motion sensor camera system which is already in place to monitor these areas of the natural area for any illegal activity. We will prosecute anyone who disturbs our resident eagles under the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940. While off-trail use has been prohibited at Radnor Lake for the past 30+ years, we now have additional/extra protection under federal law in these posted areas which are along the Lake Trail. This will ensure that our resident eagles are undisturbed and that all our 2+ million visitors can enjoy viewing these bald eagles in the future. Any visitor that sees any unauthorized activity is asked to notify a state park ranger and/or text Park Manager Steve Ward at 615-856-2086.
Enjoy the show!
Right in line with our mission of “providing safe/unique hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities”, this historic event is an opportunity for us all to enjoy viewing these American Bald Eagles in their natural environment daily. In addition, Radnor Lake has a large group of photographers who have provided some fantastic photographs of the eagles on the lake which will help us share this historic event. We are thankful to each of them for their support with sharing those phenomenal photographs, all while doing so within the rules/regulations. Thank you!
To learn more about the recovery of American Bald Eagles, please visit the following site:
https://www.fws.gov/birds/management/managed-species/bald-and-golden-eagle-information.php
Thank you for your support and to all our visitors who follow our rules/regulations at Radnor Lake. We hope that everyone will enjoy viewing our resident bald eagles in the coming months!
