Black eagles preparing nest for the new breeding season

Black Eagle Project Roodekrans (BEPR) monitors finally got some time to go into the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden (WSNBG) and photograph the eagles on the morning of March 21.

BEPR confirmed that they had seen Makatsa and Mahlori nest building and mating twice on the day. They were given the opportunity to capture the pair in flight.

“A rock hyrax (dassie) was watching them while I was there. This year’s breeding season will be extra special with the live web camera back online,” said BERP photographer Ernest Porter.

According to the BEPR monitors Makatsa and Mahlori are seriously preparing the nest for the new breeding season.

Community members are encouraged to join the monitors on Tuesday mornings and share the magnificent sights. The BEPR monitors are normally on duty on Saturday and Sunday mornings as well.

The eagles might not be visible all the time as they are only at the beginning stage of the breeding cycle.

On the web camera viewers might get a glimpse of them bringing sticks to the nest in the mornings (07:00–10:00 SA Local Time).

Usually egg laying happens in April/ May which means in the near future viewers will be able to spend hours watching these amazing eagles.

Members of the public who would like to watch what Makatsa and Mahlori are up to can do so on the link https://www.africam.com/wildlife/stream/black-eagle-live.

The black eagles of Roodekrans, referred to by many eagle followers as the masters of the sky weigh up to 4,8kg and are among Africa’s largest and most spectacular eagles.