Bald Eagles Spotted Nesting in Arizona Saguaro Cactus for the First Time in Decades

It was first spotted by a member of the public and later confirmed by Jacobson.

“It was absolutely amazing when I got the first report,” Jacobson told Cronkite News. “When we were able to get out there and see [the nest] from the ground and verify it, it was quite exciting.”

A helicopter survey produced some incredible photos of the eagles and eaglets, perched atop the cactus. The Arizona Game and Fish Department isn’t revealing the nest’s location, however, to protect it from tourists who might come and disturb it.

“This is one of those things that is pretty exciting,” said Jacobson, “but the last thing we want to do is draw a lot of attention to it. If we get a lot of people coming out and checking it out, we may end up inadvertently causing problems for their nesting attempts.”