Update: Gumbo and Roux both tangled in line at Kistache E1
16 February 2026
Hello,
I have the greatest respect for Cody and Steve at Kisatchie National Forest. But….there are arborists that can get to the nest. They have done it all over the US and Canada and Dale Hollow in Tennessee is a great example.
Now both Gumbo and Roux are tangled in the line that came on the nest – it is thick line holding a bobber.
One local news station is going to cover the story. Please see my previous post today and get in touch and put pressure on for something to be done. Both eaglets could easily be lost. They are not old enough to bolt from the nest.
There are rumours that it is illegal to go to this nest in this circumstance. Hogwash. This is human debris. Please educate people. Windows to Wildlife just removed line from the Captiva nest not a week ago!
I went to the UK as a Commonwealth Scholar in 1990 and received my PhD from the University of Leicester in 1993. After three decades of university teaching, I retired to devote my time to the study of raptor behaviour. I am particularly interested in Ospreys and am working on a long term project on third hatch survival and siblicide in these raptors. My blog is a result of a fascination with my local wildlife and the desire to encourage others to love and care for birds! I live on the Canadian Prairies and prior to the pandemic travelled a lot. I am questioning the use of aviation fuel at the moment as we all strive to help our planet. My early research was in politics and art including British public statues exported to Southeast Asia and Vietnam Resistors that contributed much to Canadian ceramics. Books and articles were published on those subjects over a period of 3 decades. Now I am working on books for children so they can learn about the challenges our raptors face.
View all posts by maryannsteggles
Amen Mary Ann! This is too much now that both are tangled. Yes if wildlife can go through there so can a arborist to fetch the eaglets! I just learned this! I have respect for them also!
Linda
It makes me so mad. The same statements that Dale Hollow always made: we will never intervene no matter what, the tree is inaccessible, the nest is dangerous. My problem? DH lied. I don’t trust anyone anymore. I say try to save their lives. Humans put the eaglets in risk fishing – then I say stop fishing on that lake and clean it up. Let people go out in kayaks and canoes. No fuel to pollute. No fishing for line and continous clean up for years to make that area safe for the wildlife.
This is a quote from a YouTube video. “Many viewers naturally wonder whether intervention is possible. In cases involving manmade hazards, intervention can sometimes be authorized and is often supported when safe and feasible. However, in this nest’s case, physical access is currently impossible without serious risk. A storm last August caused a large broken branch – known as a “widowmaker” – to fall in a way that blocks the only safe climbing path to the nest. Attempting entry would endanger rescuers, the tree, and the eagles themselves. Because of this, intervention is not being approved. (To compare this situation to any other situation you’ve seen at other nests with other eagles is simply and apples-to-oranges comparison… Don’t do it. Each situation and location is different, and situations can – and do – change, as well!!)” When all this started, Tonya, chat moderator, had mentioned in the chat about the widowmaker.
Hi Cheryl, Thank you so much for your note and quoting the FB page. I had read it and was aware of the widow maker and that no intervention was planned – indeed, it was stated years ago that no intervention would ever take place at these nests. — There are climbers, very sophisticated, trained arborists, that say the tree can be climbed, but…I will not beat a dead horse. Every tree and every instance is different, as you say, and those who could give permission to have human debris removed will not. I hope that the nest thrives without further incident. I do have the greatest respect, as I continue to say, for Cody and Steve..
Amen Mary Ann! This is too much now that both are tangled. Yes if wildlife can go through there so can a arborist to fetch the eaglets! I just learned this! I have respect for them also!
Linda
It makes me so mad. The same statements that Dale Hollow always made: we will never intervene no matter what, the tree is inaccessible, the nest is dangerous. My problem? DH lied. I don’t trust anyone anymore. I say try to save their lives. Humans put the eaglets in risk fishing – then I say stop fishing on that lake and clean it up. Let people go out in kayaks and canoes. No fuel to pollute. No fishing for line and continous clean up for years to make that area safe for the wildlife.
This is a quote from a YouTube video. “Many viewers naturally wonder whether intervention is possible. In cases involving manmade hazards, intervention can sometimes be authorized and is often supported when safe and feasible. However, in this nest’s case, physical access is currently impossible without serious risk. A storm last August caused a large broken branch – known as a “widowmaker” – to fall in a way that blocks the only safe climbing path to the nest. Attempting entry would endanger rescuers, the tree, and the eagles themselves. Because of this, intervention is not being approved. (To compare this situation to any other situation you’ve seen at other nests with other eagles is simply and apples-to-oranges comparison… Don’t do it. Each situation and location is different, and situations can – and do – change, as well!!)” When all this started, Tonya, chat moderator, had mentioned in the chat about the widowmaker.
Hi Cheryl, Thank you so much for your note and quoting the FB page. I had read it and was aware of the widow maker and that no intervention was planned – indeed, it was stated years ago that no intervention would ever take place at these nests. — There are climbers, very sophisticated, trained arborists, that say the tree can be climbed, but…I will not beat a dead horse. Every tree and every instance is different, as you say, and those who could give permission to have human debris removed will not. I hope that the nest thrives without further incident. I do have the greatest respect, as I continue to say, for Cody and Steve..