Golden Eagles Nesting in an Urban Setting in a Canary Island Date Palm Tree, San Jose, California

Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are uncommon residents in the densely populated south San Francisco Bay area, California, USA, especially within the city of San Jose (Bousman 2007). Nesting Golden Eagles have not been reported within the city limits since 1892 (Barlow 1893, California Department of Fish and Wildlife 2021). Contributing factors for this absence might include limited foraging and nesting habitat. Golden Eagles typically nest on cliffs and tall trees (Katzner et al. 2020) such as pine trees (Pinus spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.; Bousman 2007). Regionally, they nest in remote areas at higher elevations in the adjacent ranges and foothills to the east and west of San Jose. Here we describe our observations of Golden Eagles nesting in a Canary Island date palm tree (Phoenix canariensis) on the valley floor in...