For years, the same pair of bald eagles have laid their eggs at a nest by Lake Natoma in Folsom. Locals often gather along a pathway by Snowberry Way, right next to the water, to see the eagle couple at their nest from around February to June. That’s the period of time when the mother lays her eggs, the eaglets hatch and then, eventually, leave the nest.
Kathy Kayner is a volunteer who reports on the eagle nest for the Bureau of Reclamation. She’s watched over the nest since 2017 and has seen 19 eaglets hatch there.
Kathy Kayner is a volunteer who reports on the eagle nest by Lake Natoma for the Bureau of Reclamation. She’s watched over the nest since 2017.Manola Secaira/CapRadioCapRadio’s Manola Secaira joined Kayner on an early morning walk to check on the nest. Early into that visit, they saw a juvenile eagle pass overhead — possibly one of the couple’s children from a previous year.
“It just silently flew by,” said Kayner as she watched the eagle disappear into the distance. “It was not mama or papa because it did not have a white head or a white tail, so it could be last year's juvenile or a strange one. But this is the time of year that they show up.”
Kayner discussed the best times to see the eaglets and what keeps her coming back each year. If you’re not able to make it in person, you can also see the eagle couple nesting via a Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma livestream.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Interview highlights
What are you doing most mornings when you’re checking on the nest?
When I come out here with a docent, we are keeping an eye on the nest. Part of my role is to see how the eagles are doing and to report to the Bureau what's happening. What did they do while I was out there? Did they stay in the nest? Did they stay in the nest tree? Did they perch there? Were they feeding? You know, little things like that.
And then of course, waiting for people. If they stop, we offer the scope for them to see the eagles and we offer to answer any questions that they may have. Every year, there’s a group of people that have never known that the eagles were here, so they have lots of questions.
If the eagles aren’t at their nest in the morning, what are they usually up to?
They could be across from Black Miners Bar in what we call the Love Tree. They could be further down the American River Parkway at Sailor Bar or Nimbus Fish Hatchery because the steelhead salmon are running right now. They could be anywhere … because they have the freedom to do it.
Now, once [the female eagle] lays her first egg in February, they're kind of tied to the tree, one or both of them.
A male bald eagle places a stick in his nest near Lake Natoma on Jan. 14, 2025. A pair of eagles have laid their eggs at a nest by Lake Natoma in Folsom for years.Courtesy Kathy Kayner
So pretty soon, it’s likely that visitors will be able to see these eagles at the nest. What are some good days to come by and see them in the coming months?
Our busy days are Easter, Mother's Day and Memorial Day. I'm out here all day and we get 100, sometimes 200, people coming down this way. They want to be able to see not only the parents they want to see the eaglets and how they are behaving. They want to come see the family.
And around Easter, by that time, the eaglets are pretty big and you'll be able to hear them and see them very well. By that time, the oldest one would be exercising the wings and those wings are massive. Sometimes, they hit their siblings accidentally — it's kind of comical. So we set up scopes here for [visitors] to look straight into that nest.
You’ve been watching these eagles for years now. Do you ever get tired of it?
Never, ever, ever, never. I love these eagles so much and I respect them even more. I've learned so much by observation, and when I talk to people about the eagles, I forget how passionate I get.
I start telling them stories about what they do from October on. They will start rebuilding this nest in October and they fly across the lake to get their branches and they fly back, and they will work together. One will have one end of the branch in its beak, the other one will have [the other end], and they try to place it. And when they don't get along, they kind of hit each other with their beaks — you know, not too hard. Just a little bonk, you know? And it's kind of funny to see them. They bicker a little bit.
So, I talk to people about that, because I have been here for hours, just watching them and learning. One of the biggest things [I’ve learned is that] once her babies hatch — probably about a month after they hatch — tough love kicks in.
People will say to me, "Well, they're always hungry, they're screaming. Why don't they keep bringing more food?" I say, "She's trying to teach them something. They have to learn hunger. They have to know what hunger feels like." You have to also remember she's not trying to raise polite eagles, because nature is not polite. Nature is tough, and she teaches them to be tough.
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