Bald eagles accept nest built by volunteers after tree falls — then comes surprise

A bald eagle pair faced an uphill battle when a hurricane felled their tree and destroyed their nest.

But volunteers came together to build the pair a new nest in a nearby tree, and now Jolene and Boone have surprised the world with an egg.

“This is something we truly didn’t dream of happening this season after their nest tree was destroyed,” wrote Sherry Wright, an administrator of the East Tennessee University State University Bald Eagles Group on Facebook.

Hurricane Helene destroyed the pair’s nest in Johnson City in September, leaving the eagles without their longtime home in a tree that stood about 100 feet tall, according to Ryan Rice, who helped with the reconstruction.

“The loss of the Johnson City nest tree is a small reflection of the mass destruction of so many areas in our own region and those in our sister states,” Wright shared to the 2,500-member Facebook group Oct. 3.

The destruction of the eagles’ nest is no small loss by many measures, as their nests can be 4 or 5 feet in diameter and weigh thousands of pounds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bald eagles, which mate for life, typically use the same nest year after year and build the largest nests of any North American bird, experts say.

Rice and a group of eagle lovers rallied and spent several days in October building a platform in a nearby tree in the hopes the pair would accept it ahead of the 2025 mating season.

“We will wait and watch and know that Boone and Jolene will make the decision that is best for them,” Wright wrote in an update.

At first, the eagles didn’t take to the nest, and eagle watchers figured the pair had begun building a new nest nearby. But by mid-December, the pair started bringing sticks and fluff to the platform, Wright said.

Then came another addition a few months later, not long after the eagle pair was captured on camera mating.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Jan. 23, Jolene laid the first egg of the season.

Fans of the eagle pair shared their congratulations, calling the egg laying a “beautiful moment.”

Jolene and Boone’s egg comes only a day after a famous California bald eagle pair, Jackie and Shadow, welcomed their first egg, McClatchy News reported.

Johnson City is in eastern Tennessee, about a 60-mile drive north from Asheville.

This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Bald eagles accept nest built by volunteers after tree falls — then comes surprise."