Oh say can you see a bald eagle

We’re not sure why they left, but frankly, we’re just happy to have them back.

After nearly a century of absence, a pair of bald eagles have begun nesting on the San Francisco Peninsula.

The eagles’ nest is nestled away deep in a fir tree on the far edge of northern Crystal Springs Reservoir. It’s hard for people to spot them, yet they have a good view of several million of us.

George Chrisman of Burlingame was the lucky man who got to break the news to the Merc:

“It feels really good. They’re unmistakable — white head, white tail.”

Chrisman spotted the pair of bald eagles during a scan of the reservoir a couple weeks back. After spotting the eagles, he watched for four hours more to find their nest.

Soon, the news had drawn a crowd of birders, loaded up with powerful binoculars and telescopes.

San Mateo county resident Larry Caughlan, 63, was one of those in the crowd:

“This is so exciting. It’s the first time seeing a nest here in my lifetime. I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it.”

Caughlan, like many others, had feared that the last spotting of bald eagles in the area, way back in 1915, would be the last.

For birders and environmentalists, the sighting brings renewed hope the area can return to the veritable bald eagle paradise it was over a century ago.

And for anyone interested in going to see the birds, volunteers from the Sequoia Audubon environmental group will be available on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon to guide visitors.