An eagle’s nest sits high within a pine in the small forest near the lake on Callander’s Lansdowne Street. The birds have called this nest home since 2019, and after some recent work on Lansdowne Street, many residents are concerned the eagles are losing their habitat and may be displaced from the area for good.
Callander residents love the eagles and enjoy watching the birds. According to local lore, the eagles have raised three batches of eaglets since arriving to the small forest on the right side of Lansdowne Street, as you walk toward the lake.
The area around the dock on Lansdowne has recently seen some work as part of the town’s Downtown and Waterfront Revitalization Plan. A gazebo was installed, and work is underway to add a sidewalk and new culverts. There are plans to grade the hill down about three feet as well.
Mayor Robb Noon explained that since there was already heavy equipment in the area working to prepare the sidewalk and hill, the municipality decided to begin work on a parking lot in the woods beside the hill, which could be used for boat trailers since parking at the dock is limited. There are no plans to pave the parking space.
See: Prepare your picnics, Callander, your gazebos are coming
Work began on that Tuesday, with trees and brush being removed to create room for the parking lot. This is the same forest the eagles call home, and residents are concerned the damage done to the eagle’s environment may be detrimental and deter the birds from coming back.
Mayor Robb Noon emphasized that the eagles’ nest will not be harmed. Yesterday afternoon, the municipality issued a statement on its website which noted “the tree and brush cutting” occurring at Lansdowne “will not impact the eagle’s nest or the trees surrounding the nest.”
If further development occurs, “and the trees near the nest are needing to be removed,” the town will complete an environmental assessment beforehand. Mayor Noon explained that the municipality sought advice from a biologist about the eagles before embarking on this stage of development, and from that advice decided to delay the work until now “to accommodate the breeding season.”
“We’re well aware of the eagles, and we have no intention of cutting their trees down,” Mayor Noon said. “The eagles are part of Callander, and we all enjoy having them around, it’s a draw to our waterfront.”
Many residents agree the eagles are a draw, but many also expressed concern that removing any trees from the area will jeopardize the bird’s habitat. “These eagles living amongst us was such a nice, beautiful story,” said Callander resident Jennifer McNutt Bywater, and the birds “could have been used to draw people to the region to enjoy this natural beauty.”
“These eagles have chosen to live with us,” she added, “and we have chosen to destroy their habitat.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
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