Redding Eagles Nest

The camera looks at a large stick nest high in a tall tree, where bald eagles come and go through the nesting season. Adults can be seen arranging branches, sheltering eggs or feeding young, while the tree canopy and the open sky of northern California fill the rest of the view. The nest itself, bulky and dark against the branches, is what makes the scene easy to recognise.

Activity is strongest in the nesting season, when adults trade places on the nest and bring food to growing chicks. Early morning and late afternoon often bring the most movement, as does a change in weather such as wind or rain. Outside the breeding months the nest may sit quiet, and the tree and sky become the main subject.

Redding sits in the Sacramento Valley of northern California, close to the foothills of the Cascade Range and the Trinity Mountains. The area around the city is known for its rivers, oak woodlands and hot summers, and bald eagles have long nested in the region. Visitors come for hiking, fishing and time on the water, and the surrounding hills draw people who watch birds and other wildlife.