86 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Yol. 12-No. 6 
A Trip After Golden Eagle’s Eggs. 
BY J. R. CHALKER, WATSONVILLE, CAL. 
Having decided to take a trip after Golden 
Eagle’s eggs ( Aquila chrysaetus canadensis ) , on 
March 7th, 1887, I left my pleasant little room 
and in true California tramp style, started foi 
San Benito County. 
Now the true California “ rustieator,” as 
tramps here are called, always pack their 
own blankets and sleep where night over- 
takes them — that is my style ; 1 pack my 
own blankets, rifle, hatchet, spy glass and 
egg box, and sleep where night finds me. 
On March 7th, with my pack on my back, I 
started over the dusty road that took me to San 
Juan. Having heard from a friend of mine 
an eagle had a nest on some high rocky cliff's 
this side of San Juan, I determined to find it. 
I at last saw a couple of eagles flying swiftly 
toward a high steep rock, and one of the birds 
lit on what appeared to be a jutting ledge on 
the face of .the cliff'. With my spy glass I saw 
it was a nest. Walking to the bottom of the 
mountain and laying down my load, I started 
for the top, smiling to think of my luck the 
first day, and wondering if I could not find a 
hiding place to stow the eggs away, until I 
returned at the end of my trip. 
With these thoughts in my mind I hurried 
up the hill, and as I approached nearer and 
nearer the cliff's, the higher it seemed to grow. 
At last standing under the cliff I could see 
the nest was an old one of last year’s or more, 
but I noticed in the bottom of a small cave in 
the face of the cliff the edge of a new nest, and 
up above another nest. After a good look from 
below I went above on top of the rock, aud I 
could then see in one of the old nests, but I al- 
so quickly saw there was no way of getting to 
the new nest from above, and I quickly con- 
cluded I could not walk up the almost perpen- 
dicular rock to the nest above some thirty or 
forty feet ; so returning to my pack X thought 
it would not be necessary to find a hiding place 
to put the eggs away, and I also concluded no 
other person would disturb them just at 
present. 
Shouldering my pack I walked the rest of 
that day, and camped at night under a water 
tank, where I slept in a straw stack, as the 
harvest hands in this country do. That night I 
did some lofty thinking about that eagle’s nest, 
and concluded that in time, by means of a drill 
and some dowels, I could reach the nest. 
In the night I awoke, and near the water 
tank was an Old Barn Owl flying, and the 
moon was shining brightly, while the coyotes 
were singing or fighting (hard to tell which), 
on the hill sides of the Gabilan Mountains. 
The beautiful San Juan Valley seemed asleep. 
It was a lovely night. 
I awoke very early and started for the San 
Benito River, and having shot a rabbit I intended 
to roast it for dinner. After crossing the San 
Benito River, and climbing over numerous barb 
wire fences, I reached the eagle’s nest of last 
year, from which I took the handsomest set of 
eggs I ever saw, and from which I expected to 
obtain another set this season; but my calcula- 
tions were in vain, for the nest was ragged and 
partly torn down. Continuing my journey I 
arrived at Tres 1* i nos at 3 p. m. and camped 
near the town. 
Having purchased supplies for the next few 
days I determined to take a trip next day to a 
nest I found on April 5th, 1886, which then con- 
tained two young eagles that had been hatched 
a week or so before. At the time I found the 
nest last year the eagles were about the size of 
pigeons, and covered with white silvery down. 
They were curious looking objects, with their 
big heads, bills and eyes ; and did not seem to 
know just what to make of such a looking crea- 
ture as I climbing up the main body of the 
tree beside them; for the nest was placed on a 
limb a few feet from the main tree. On the 
nest side of the young birds were two freshly 
killed and partly eaten squirrels, and the egg 
shells that had not as yet been removed. Lat- 
er, on May 3rd, I climbed to this nest to take a 
last look at the young birds and found them 
grown very large and nearly full size, and the 
only change in the plumage was that the pri- 
mary and secondary quills had grown about an 
inch long. The young birds did not seem to 
take much notice of me and one concluded to 
go to sleep, but the other fellow thought I bet- 
ter be watched. I was up in the tree more than 
thirty minutes, and the old birds now and then 
flew around at a distance of one hundred yards 
or more, and then would occasionally light on 
an old dead tree high up on the side of the 
mountain. 
On the 9th of March, of this year, I left Tres 
Pinos to go to this nest, and arriving there 1 
found the nest torn down and no new one 
started; so after wandering around for two or 
three miles to an old nest built years before, I 
was surprised to see an eagle light on an alder 
bush, and after taking a good sized limb in her 
bill, snap it off and fly away, carrying the limb 
AND OOLOGIST. 
87 
June 1887.] 
in her bill and depositing it on the old nest. 1 
visited this nest again on March 16th, but it had 
apparently been forsaken. 
I hunted till March 11th, before I obtained 
my first set of Golden Eagle’s eggs. I had 
been watching a pair of eagles all the morning 
with my glass, and had walked till I felt tired. 
While sitting under a tree I saw an eagle going 
through the diving process ; which consists of 
a series of downward pitches with the wing's 
closed, to be then suddenly opened and shoot 
upward. This seems to be an act of joy. as 
they frequently utter their musical cry just be- 
fore or after this process. 1 have noticed that 
this act is committed just after the female leaves 
the nest or just before she goes on. Going- 
over the next ridge I saw the female go through 
the same operation, and then swoop down and 
light in an oak tree. With the aid of my glass 
I could see her on the nest. She flew off when 
I got within a hundred yards, and left me to 
my own investigations. After climbing to the 
nest, which was very small, (not larger than 
an old Red-tail Hawk’s nest), I saw it contained 
two nice eggs, which I lowered to the ground 
in my handkerchief; and then measuring the 
string I found the nest was forty-five feet in 
height from the ground. It was composed of 
large sticks, with a lining of dried grass, green 
twigs and a few feathers. This was the most 
shapely and compact nest I have ever seen that 
was built by a Golden Eagle. The eggs were 
of the usual shape, and the markings on each 
were quite different. One egg is quite light, 
having a white ground color covered with thick 
lilac spots and blotches,- with only a few blotch- 
es of dull reddish brown near the smaller end. 
The other is apparently free from any lilac 
markings, but is thickly covered with reddish 
brown spots, being confluent on the smaller end 
in one mass of reddish brown. This set of eggs 
was slightly incubated. 
On March 15th, having been down the coun- 
try a long distance, and finding nothing, I con- 
cluded to return by way of Tres Pinos and 
take one more trip to Santa Anna foot hills and 
vicinity. On the 16th I went for an all-day’s 
w r alk over the rough country near Santa Anna 
Peak, and after walking till nearly night I 
noticed an eagle fly from a steep hill that had 
a few live oak trees growing from its side. I 
looked it over with my glass and found a bunch 
that looked familiar; and while going to it, and 
very near it, the eagle flew from the nest. 
This was in a live oak tree and was much 
larger than the first nest I found. The eggs of 
this set were quite different from one another, 
one being lightly, and the other darkly marked. 
This set was slightly incubated. 
With two sets of eggs I determined to go 
home, and starting in the evening I walked 
to an old barn and took possession, for I pre- 
ferred to be under cover the way the weather 
looked. 
Next morning by crossing the San Benito 
River I headed for the Gabilan Mountains. 
After walking all the morning I was surprised 
to hear an eagle cry, and I quickly got out my 
glass. Resting it over a convenient post I lo- 
cated him in the top of a live oak tree, where I 
could see his head sticking out among the leaves. 
After he had screamed once or twice he raised 
his wings and flew away over the ridge. After 
looking at all the principal trees I decided the 
nest must be in a big live oak tree on the north 
slope of the hill; and after looking in most of 
the other trees 1 came to the right one, and 
saw the nest in a crotch by the side of the main 
trunk of the tree. It was completely hidden 
from outside view by the thick foliage of the 
tree. Rapping on the tree with my hatchet the 
female flew from the nest. Having climbed to 
the nest I was astonished, for before me lay 
two white eggs. Never having seen or heard 
of a Golden Eagle laying white eggs, I thought 
I had a great curiosity. This nest was forty- 
two feet from the ground, and was of large size 
and composed of sticks, dried grass and a few 
feathers, but no green twigs. This set of eggs 
was slightly more incubated than the others I 
found. One egg is pure white while the other 
has a few reddish brown markings on the 
smaller end. While sitting under the tree 
blowing the eggs, the old bird returned and 
lit over my head near the nest, and I had a fine 
view of one of our noblest birds. No bird to 
my mind can excel the Golden Eagle in dignity 
while perching, or in graceful motions while on 
the wing; now sweeping in graceful motions 
round and round, higher and higher until lost 
in the canopy of Heaven, and again with slow 
and steady beat crossing from peak to peak, he 
alights on some high crag and sweeps the val- 
ley with his fearless eye. 
When I arose from the ground she flew away, 
and I made my way to the old historic town 
of San Juan, and went to the village black- 
smith and at once set him at work on a rock 
drill. 
Here I met with fun. The day being cloudy 
and foggy most of the Mexican and white pop- 
ulation of the sleepy old town were in and near 
the shop, and of course, I being a complete 
stranger, and with nearly all the tools of a 
