Mr. President & Lotus Bald Eagle Cam
Washington, DC
Camera Information
Mr. President & Lady of the United States (LOTUS) BALD EAGLE CAM
National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest Cam, Washington, DC
In Partnership with the American Eagle Foundation • Powered by HDOnTap
About This Pair of Bald Eagles
In 2014, a pair of mated Bald Eagles chose the most idyllic of nest sites within the United States’ National Capital, Washington, DC, nestled high in a Tulip Poplar Tree amongst The Azalea Collection at the United States National Arboretum, which is operated by the United States Department of Agriculture. This was the first time Bald Eagles have nested in this location since 1947.
Mr. President and The First Lady, returned to the National Arboretum on October 15, 2018.
In 2020, this nest saw some interesting changes. The First Lady returned back to the nest Oct. 7th 2020. Both TFL and Mr. P made frequent stops at the nest for nestorations, feedings, matings and all was well. The season appeared to be going well and looking towards a successful season. A 4-year old visitor showed up on February 15 and The First Lady has not been seen since Valentines Day of 2020. The visitor was not the only eagle to stop by and pay attention to this established nest. The new visitor was the 5th of the year so they were referred to as V5. Ever since V5 made her prescence known at the nest, her and Mr.P have acted like a mated pair.
Bald Eagle Nest Information & Location:
Their tree is located on the western edge of the Arboretum’s famed Glenn Dale azalea collection, the destination of springtime visitors to the Arboretum since 1949. The azaleas bloom in late April and early May. Staff from USNA engaged in early consultation with Craig Koppie, US Fish and Wildlife Service Chesapeake Bay Field Office to avoid disturbance and minimize potential impacts to the new Eagle pair. The presence of the Bald Eagle nest so close to Azalea Drive along the south side of Mount Hamilton means the road is closed off to vehicles. A smaller segment of Azalea Drive will be closed to pedestrians because it is within the buffer zone (roughly 660 feet in diameter surrounding the nest site). Visitors can still explore most of the Azalea Collections from the east side trailheads, however, visitors are not allowed to see the nest itself.
The current nest is approximately five feet wide by six feet deep. The tree selected by this pair is large enough to support a nest, is within sight distance of the river, and is also located in one of the few parts of the District with limited human disturbance.
The Arboretum has a number of mature trees that are large enough to support an eagle’s nest. Even though this nest is in an urban area, the Arboretum provides quality wildlife habitat and enough open space to dampen the commotion and noise from the city. Also, the Arboretum’s eastern boundary is the Anacostia River, which is a significant food source.
There are about 50 species of fish in the Anacostia, some are minnows, alewives and other small fish but there are some like shad, bass, herring, warmouth, gar and American eel that they could catch. We know for sure they are eating catfish, most likely a bullhead type and perch (we saw that when USFWS did their fly over last season, it was sitting on the edge of the nest). It was noted that the eagles may have been feeding on either a female ruddy duck or coot, there was also some herring or ring-billed gull primary feathers in the nest.
The Anacostia River supports 188 species of birds and nearly 50 species of fish. Some of the animals you can see in and along the river include: bald eagles, beavers, white perch, ospreys, striped bass, cormorants, crayfish, herons, turtles, egrets, otters, herring, red fox, shad, kingfishers, and bullhead catfish.
For more information visit the American Eagle Foundation's website.
History
2022 Season History
Season Summary: TBD
- December 25, 2021 - V5 is officially named Lotus, short for Lady of the United States
- December 26, 2021 - First mating attempt captured on live cams
2021 Season History
A very interesting season unfolds, after much affection and mating attmepts in the nest between Mr. P and The First Lady, the season began to take an unexpected turn as a younger visiting eagle would not leave Mr. P and this nest alone for several months. At first the visitor was met with resistance from Mr. P and TFL shewed the eagle out of the nest. After a dramatic dive bomb attempt to get the visitor to vacate the nest, TFL was not seen again. This season was a nest takeover, Mr. P and V5/Lotus were seen making many contributions to the nest, bonding and mating together between March and June of 2021.
- August 6, 2020 - Mr. P returns to nest
- August 18, 2020 - Mr. P and an Unidentified Eagle visitor are seen in the nest together, this eagle looks like TFL but identity cannot be confirmed
- August 28, 2020 - Mr. P and TFL look-alike work on the nest together
- August 29, 2020 - A Sub-Adult eagle stopped by the nest briefly
- September 25, 2020 - Unknown Eagle vistior is seen at the nest
- September 29, 2020 - Mr. President is seen at the nest joined by an unknown eagle visitor
- October 7, 2020 - The First Lady returns to the nest
- October 8, 2020 - Mr. President and The First Lady seen mating attempt
- October 9, 2020 - Mr. President and The First Lady join at the nest
- October 15, 2020 - Two unknown visitors at the nest then Mr. President appeared at the nest before sunset
- November 2, 2020 - Mr. P hops into next and TFL takes his spot on the OH branch
- November 2, 2020 - Mr. P gets into nest and lets out warning vocals, another eagle that appears to be a sub-adult tries to land on the OH branch, Mr. P chases this Sub-adult out of the nest
- November 3, 2020 - Mr. P again lets out warning vocals and chases sub-adult out of nest, sub adult lands in nearby tree, the two exchange vocals
- November 4, 2020 - TFL lands on OH branch and then into the nest as Mr. P arrives, the two follow eachother out at 2pm
- November 4, 2020 - A sub-eagle arries in the nest at 5pm and stays until 8pm when either an owl or an eagle knocked the eagle off of the branch they were perched on
- November 5, 2020 - Same sub-eagle appears in nest at 6:15am then flies out at 6:36am,
- November 5, 2020 - TFL flies into nest at 1pm and perches on a branch that breaks from the tree and falls, she flies back into the nest
- November 7, 2020 - TFL and MR. P join in the nest and exchange vocals
- December 1, 2020 - Mr. P Stick delivery
- December 2, 2020 - Mr. P and Visitor in nest on oppposite branches, Mr. P lets out warning vocals until they both fall asleep
- December 3, 2020 - Mr. P and Visitor work on the nest, visitor eagle attempts to join Mr. P on a branch, later in the morning there is a mating attempt or show of dominance by Mr. P, the two eagles work on nestorations, the visitor returns with a stick, then Mr. P returns with an additional stick, the two return back and forth for 8 sticks and one fluff bundle between the two of them.
- December 4, 2020 - Mr. P and Visitor mating attempt
- December 4, 2020 - TFL perched high in a tree and swoops down into nest, Mr. P joins
- December 8, 2020 - Mr. P and TFL mating attempt
- December 10, 2020 - Mr. P and TFL nestorations work
- January 1, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating attempt
- January 5, 2021 - Mr. P and Sub-adult visitor perched above the nest in the early morning, Mr. P lets our high pitched vocals, Visitor pokes around in the nest, Mr. P flies off and returns with TFL who dive bombs the nest, the visitor promptly leaves the nest
- January 6, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating attempt and nestorations work
- January 7, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- January 8, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- January 14, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- January 15, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL, prey delivery and mating attempt
- January 17, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL track something in the sky and then TFL takes off, another eagle can be seen flying in the distance along with TFL, Eagle visitor lands in the nest with shrill vocals, another eagle dive bombs the visitor but visitor holds their own and continues the vocalize and lands in the branch nest to the nest before flying off.
- January 17, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL return to the nest with prey and then bring a stick to the nest before mating attempt. Mr. P brings in another huge stick, Mr. P and TFL mating attempt again.
- January 18, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- January 19, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- January 21, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- January 22, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL nest work and several mating attempts
- February 7, 2021 - Sub-Adult eagle visitor returns and is chased away by Mr. P and TFL
- February 9, 2021 - Again a Sub-Adult eagle visitor returns to the nest and Sub-Adult nibbles at Mr. P and then flies away
- February 10, 2021 - Visitor perches on branch, there is a fly over eagle and then visitor leaves and TFL enters the nest
- February 14, 2021 - Mr. P and TFL mating and nestorations
- February 15, 2021 - Sub Adult arrives in nest and does some nestorations, Mr. P arrives with a stick, Sub Adult visitor tries to get Mr. P's attention with biting and pulling on Mr. P's feathers, Mr. P kicks visitor, Sub Adult stays in the nest while Mr. P delivery sticks and fluff, the visitor gets comfortable in the nest bole. Later in the day visitor and Mr. P mate, unsure if this is an act of dominance, Mr. P and Sub Adult continue to spend time in the nest together, at one point they track something in the sky, the two eagles mate again on a branch.
- Feburary 16, 2021 - Sub Adult and Mr. P again work on nestorations and three mating attempts. Dive bomb and vocals in the nest and the visitor leaves but cannot confirm that the dive bomb was TFL.
- February 17, 2021 - Mr. P and Sub-Adult Visitor mate in the morning, they fly off and vocals are heard in the distance, Visitor returns with fish and tries out the nest bowl, Mr. P returns with fish delivery, Visitor follows Mr. P's every move.
- February 17, 2021 - Two eagles fly by the nest before Visitor lands, she flies off and then returns and flies off, she sends out vocals on return and then there appears to be a mid-air dive bomb, both eagles fly off and disappear from view. Mr. P perches in the tree and then Visitor joining him soon after. Another third eagle flies into the nest and is chased off by an unidentified eagle.
- February 18, 2021 - Sub Adult Visitor referred to as V5 work on the nest and have several mating attempts
- August 20, 2021 - Partial Nest Collapse
- December 19, 2021 - Nest has been largely rebuilt by the eagles since collapse
2020 Season History
Summary: The season started off hopeful with lots of courtship, mating and nesting behaviors seen by Mr. President and The First Lady but unfortunately this was the second unsuccessful season for the mated pair. The season was kept interesting with many nest intruders, some of which Mr. President was seen mating with.
January 17, 2020 - Cameras went live on HDOnTap.com
February 4, 2020 - Both Mr. President and The First Lady are busy at nestorations
February 7, 2020 - The eagles are seen mating around and in the nest 8 times throughout the day
February 8, 2020 - Mr. President is seen making many trips out of the nest and coming back with large sticks
February 10, 2020 - The First Lady appears at the nest in the morning and is joined by Mr. President the two fend off and make territorial sounds for something flying overhead
February 12, 2020 - Mr. President returns to the nest with a pile of grass and bundles into the nest
February 17, 2020 - Hawk intrudes the nest
February 15, 2020 - TFL displays "dominance behaviors" after mating
February 21, 2020 - Mr. President practices egg sitting in the nest tucking grass into the nest and sitting on the nest for a decent amount of time
February 22, 2020 - Interesting behavior seen from The First Lady, she makes a shrill call at Mr. President and extends her wings at him, seen as a dominance behavior. AEF speculated in chat that TFL has done this before in previous nests, in 2018 this behavior was seen on March 17, then the first egg was laid on March 25th. There is speculation as to whether this is performed as a result of hormones during her fertile period. This behavior continued for the next few days.
February 26, 2020 - Nest intruder is seen in the nest and was chased off by Mr. President and TFL
February 29, 2020 - A hawk is chased away by TFL from the nest area
March 13, 2020 - A sub-adult eagle stopped by the nest at dusk, seen moving around nest materials until Mr. President returns to the nest and chases the juvenille eagle out of the nest. The young intruder returns to the nest nearly 9 times throughout the night and is chased away with some combat from Mr. President.
April 12, 2020 - Mr. President and The First Lady seen at the nest mating
April 14, 2020 - Mr. President and a female nest intruder mate
April 26, 2020 - Mr. President and the female nest intruder seen mating again
2019 Season History
Summary: 0 eggs laid
February 5, 2019 - Cameras went live
2018 Season History
Summary: 2 eggs, 2 hatches, 1 fledge
September 28, 2017 - Mr. President returned to nest
October 9, 2017 - First Lady returned to nest
March 25, 2018 - First egg laid
March 28, 2018 - Second egg laid
April 30, 2018 - First Hatch
May 3, 2018 - Second Hatch
July 12, 2018 - First Fledge "Victory"
July 26, 2018 - Second Fledge "Valor"
August 2018 - Valor fell from the nest and was recovered a few days later. He was taken to Tri-State and was later humanely euthanized because it was confirned he had contracted West Nile Virus
2017 Season History
Summary: 2 eggs, 2 hatches, 2 fledges
September 13, 2016 - Mr. President returned to nest
October 11, 2016 - First Lady returned to nest
February 19, 2017 - First egg laid
February 23, 2017 - Second egg laid
March 29, 2017 - First Hatch
March 30, 2017 - Second Hatch
June 19, 2017 - First Fledge "Glory"
June 22, 2017 - Second Fledge "Honor"
Highlight Clips
March 02, 2021
National Arboretum New Female Enters the Nest • Watch Clip
Enjoy this Highlight of the National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest as a new Female enters the nest and begins to bond and mate with Mr. President.
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Welcome to the 2022 Nesting Season for Bald Eagle Pair Mr. President & LOTUS (Lady of The United States)!