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What does the Fort St. Vrain bald eagle site look like? The eagles' nest (FSV-N0) is 9 x 8 feet wide, eight feet high, and 57 feet off the ground. It has a perimeter of about 26 feet, a total area of about 56 feet, and probably weighs between 2200 and 2700 pounds! The nest is located in a cottonwood on the banks of the St. Vrain River near Platteville, CO, on property owned by Xcel Energy. We’re not sure how old it is, but Bob Anderson and Rob MacIntyre put the first cam system up in 2003, when the nest was already well established. FSV-N0 is built primarily of cottonwood branches (the dominant tree in many river systems out west) and lined with prairie grass. After the primary limb supporting the nest fell in August of 2020, RRP Director John Howe worked with Xcel Energy to put up a new bionic limb and restore the nest. The eagles gave it their seal of approval just a few days later!
As the eagles look out of their nest, they might view the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, roughly 15 miles west of the nest, or the junction of the St. Vrain and south Platte rivers roughly 2 miles north.
