We sent a photographer to find bald eagles near Folsom. How you can see them too
Visitors from as far away as Australia made the trek last weekend to witness Lake Natoma’s longtime bald eagle residents raise their latest hatchlings.
The pair have been returning to the same spot since 2017, according to the Friends of Lakes Folsom & Natoma website, which hosts a live camera feed focused on the nest. According to the website, which is also known by the acronym FOLFAN, the eagles have had 16 successful hatches since 2017. Two eaglets have been spotted in the nest this year.
Signs along the trail direct visitors where to get the best views while keeping a safe distance from the nest, which is located in Orangevale along the bluffs above the north shore of the lake. It can be reached by walking about a half-mile west on the unpaved upper trail from the western parking area at Black Miners Bar.
Nigel Owen, a wildlife photographer traveling with his wife from Australia, detoured through Orangevale to take pictures of the eagles on their way to Yellowstone National Park.
“We’re always looking for good photographic opportunities where we don’t interfere with the animals at all,” said Owen. “We get most of our best tips from local photographers that we just meet and say ‘good day’ along the way.”
The Orangevale eagles were recommended by nature photographers Owen and his wife met at Point Reyes National Seashore earlier in their trip.
According to FOLFAN, the bald eagles usually lay their eggs in mid-February. The eggs hatch about a month later, and the eaglets fledge in mid-June.
State Parks interpreter Nicole Barden, who was leading a “Blooms and Birding” walk along the Lake Natoma shoreline, also made a stop near the eagles’ nest last Sunday. Her group took turns looking through a telescope at the birds.
“This is a public park. It belongs to you and we encourage everybody to get outside and enjoy it so that we have these species into the future,” Barden said.
She encouraged the public to subscribe to the Folsom Lake SRA interpretive newsletter for dates and times to participate in outdoor activities.
