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over the brink of the cliff there was the nest, only about ten feet below 
us, with the female eagle sitting on it. The nest was on a shelf of rock 
on the north face of the precipice, and the rocks above hung out over it 
in such a way as to protect it somewhat from rain and snow, and perhaps 
from the noonday sun, and yet clearly visible from our observation point. 
We had brought along a stout rope in case we should find need for it 
in reaching the nest, and it was now decided that I, as the leader of the 
party, should be lowered over the cliff. Accordingly one end of the rope 
was anchored to some solid rocks, and the other end fastened around my 
chest. My companions then proceeded to lower me over the side, not 
without some anxiety on my part as to what the reaction of the eagle 
might be to this invasion of her privacy. 
To my intense relief, the eagle, that in spite of all of the talking and 
commotion just above her had remained quietly on her nest, spread her 
wings directly after my legs appeared over the edge of the cliff, and 
sailed off while I dangled defenseless some 500 feet above the bottom of 
the canyon. And to my continued relief she did not return during the 
several minutes I spent examining the nest and securing the eggs. Theo 
nest was made of sticks and must have been four or five feet across, with 
the cavity for the eggs about one foot in diameter, and quite shallow. 
It was lined with fresh pine and spruce twigs and dead yucca leaves, and 
contained two fresh eggs. The nest evidently had been used for several 
years, for it showed plainly where additional fresh sticks had been placed 
at various times. It was strongly built and set so firmly on the shelf of 
rock that as I sat on its edge I had no sense of being in a precarious 
position. There was a fine view up the canyon, and evidently this wide 
outlook was one reason why the eagles had chosen this spot for their 
nesting site, with all its facilities for spotting prey. It was while taking 
in the view from the eyrie that I saw one of the only two bald eagles that 
I ever saw near Golden. This specimen of the National Bird was perched 
on the top of a dead pine tree on the other side of the canyon, and gave 
no evidence of being disturbed by our presence at the golden eagle’s nest. 
When I next visited this particular spot, some years later, the golden 
eagles were still about, but had left the nest I had invaded, and had 
apparently reverted to an older nest, on a practically inaccessible ledge 
farther down the side of the cliff. 
My next visit to a golden eagle’s nest was made a year later. I had 
frequently seen golden eagles in Clear Creek Canyon, within three or 
four miles of Golden, and had climbed to some old nests, one of which had 
apparently been used for a number of years, as it had been built up to a 
height of four or five feet, but from appearances had not been occupied 
for some years. 
With the idea that there must be an occupied nest in this part of the 
canyon not far from Golden, I started out alone the afternoon of March 
12, 1904, to make a try at finding it. It was too early in the season for 
spring migrants or summer residents, but on my way up the canyon I 
encountered the usual mag*pies, juncos, and western tree sparrows among 
