Attention bikers: if you were planning on heading to Vancouver's Vanier Park to practice your pumping skills ahead of mountain bike and BMX season, you'll have to hold off a little longer.
The Vancouver Park Board announced Friday that the Kits Point park's forested bike pump track will remain closed until the end of April, to accommodate eagle nesting in the area. "Between egg incubation and post-hatching, eagles are very sensitive to noise and vegetation disturbance," the park board explained in a tweet. "Thank you for your understanding!"
When the track was constructed just over a decade ago, it was built to include a permanent bald eagle nesting pole located in an effort to minimize disturbances to the majestic birds that already flocked to the area each spring.
According to the Stanley Park Ecology Society, bald eagles tend to re-establish territories and return to their old nest sites throughout the Vancouver area each winter, usually by February. The eggs— typically two per nest— are laid in March and April. Those nests, meanwhile, often measure in at two to three metres across, and can weigh up to 900 kilograms. Hatching takes place following a 36-day incubation period.
In cases where two or more eggs hatch, the Society says the more aggressive chick stands to acquire most of the food, thus becoming the only one to survive. However, if there is enough food to go around then all of the chicks may reach fledging age, when they're strong enough to leave the nest, at about 12 weeks old.
