A lot of traffic this year, more than any other year.

[Rockitglider]

So I try to educate people as much as possible and sometimes people, or I should say some people don't care or don't want to be told by someone they don't know what to do. People are getting closer and closer to the nest and the fist thing I try to tell them is the distances (330 FEET) recommended by the Audubon and wildlife protection acts. So it is both unethical and illegal to disturb bald eagles. Some cases or locations are different or have exceptions by they way the eagles chose where they made their nests, and the Deerfield nest is one of those with a special rule because of the parks bike trail, but this is not an excuse to break the distance rule claiming that the eagles are used to the traffic and activity.

    So I decided to measure the nest location in reference to the road (10th street) and the No Trespassing signs that the DOT has posted in the field where everyone pulls off the road to view the nesting activity. I decided to do this after a guy challenged me today saying that there was no way those signs were 300 feet from the nest, him and 2 others had setup tripods half of the distance from the No Trespassing signs to the nest, and the adult flew in with food and didn't take it to the chicks so I told them they might be too close because I have never seen this unusual activity from the adults with food, they usually take it to the nest, and weather this is normal or not they were too close at less than 200 feet from the nest. So it turns out he was right about the distance, I was wrong, the signs are not 300 feet from the nest they are only 250 feet and 330 feet would put you in the roadway and obviously we can't do that. I'm just trying to say that we need to be more careful with the chicks at this time because they could easily fall out of the nest causing them to fledge too early. Please try to let people know what the distances are and that getting too close can cause harm to the eagles. Most people don't have a problem with this and I get into some great conversations with people about the eagles and I think they like to hear about them, so I direct them to this site to see the pictures and read about the eagles. The distance was measured with a wheel measuring device that I use to do architectural drawings of buildings so I know it is accurate down to the inch. Have fun and lets help the eagles have some privacy if possible.

[Drlester3]

May I suggest posting signs at 330 feet way. With the following

Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act the first criminal offense is a misdemeanor with maximum penalty of one year in prison and $100,000 fine for an individual ($200,000 for an organization).

Lester



-----Original Message-----
From: Rockitglider [via Bald Eagles of Broward County, Florida] <[hidden email]>
To: Drlester3 <[hidden email]>
Sent: Sun, Mar 28, 2021 7:05 pm
Subject: A lot of traffic this year, more than any other year.

So I try to educate people as much as possible and sometimes people, or I should say some people don't care or don't want to be told by someone they don't know what to do. People are getting closer and closer to the nest and the fist thing I try to tell them is the distances (330 FEET) recommended by the Audubon and wildlife protection acts. So it is both unethical and illegal to disturb bald eagles. Some cases or locations are different or have exceptions by they way the eagles chose where they made their nests, and the Deerfield nest is one of those with a special rule because of the parks bike trail, but this is not an excuse to break the distance rule claiming that the eagles are used to the traffic and activity.

    So I decided to measure the nest location in reference to the road (10th street) and the No Trespassing signs that the DOT has posted in the field where everyone pulls off the road to view the nesting activity. I decided to do this after a guy challenged me today saying that there was no way those signs were 300 feet from the nest, him and 2 others had setup tripods half of the distance from the No Trespassing signs to the nest, and the adult flew in with food and didn't take it to the chicks so I told them they might be too close because I have never seen this unusual activity from the adults with food, they usually take it to the nest, and weather this is normal or not they were too close at less than 200 feet from the nest. So it turns out he was right about the distance, I was wrong, the signs are not 300 feet from the nest they are only 250 feet and 330 feet would put you in the roadway and obviously we can't do that. I'm just trying to say that we need to be more careful with the chicks at this time because they could easily fall out of the nest causing them to fledge too early. Please try to let people know what the distances are and that getting too close can cause harm to the eagles. Most people don't have a problem with this and I get into some great conversations with people about the eagles and I think they like to hear about them, so I direct them to this site to see the pictures and read about the eagles. The distance was measured with a wheel measuring device that I use to do architectural drawings of buildings so I know it is accurate down to the inch. Have fun and lets help the eagles have some privacy if possible.

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NAML

[naturegirl]

We need signs warning of fines and maybe get th epolice involved..afterall we don't want another incident like we had at loxahathcee and green cay and it could come to that. I have no problem taping off the entire area from the fence by the park all the way to the turnpike with caution tape (you can buy that anywhere) at least that would be a visual. I also take pictures of people and their license plates which has been shown to stop some people from coming back. education is great idea but in these times rarely works. I spent the first year being nice on the beach about sea turtles which did nothing. Then I got more assertive shall we say and people rarely crossed the line for fear of what would happen to them. When people know they're being watched they behave better, this worked with a jerk on the beach dog park. Th eagles have to come first

[Stylechick60]

We need to do what needs to be done ....save our Eagles,

Tigers, wildlife 🙏🏻❤️

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 28, 2021, at 9:30 PM, naturegirl [via Bald Eagles of Broward County, Florida] <[hidden email]> wrote:

 We need signs warning of fines and maybe get th epolice involved..afterall we don't want another incident like we had at loxahathcee and green cay and it could come to that. I have no problem taping off the entire area from the fence by the park all the way to the turnpike with caution tape (you can buy that anywhere) at least that would be a visual. I also take pictures of people and their license plates which has been shown to stop some people from coming back. education is great idea but in these times rarely works. I spent the first year being nice on the beach about sea turtles which did nothing. Then I got more assertive shall we say and people rarely crossed the line for fear of what would happen to them. When people know they're being watched they behave better, this worked with a jerk on the beach dog park. Th eagles have to come first

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[Rockitglider]

Hello all,

I spoke with the head of the Eagle Watch program and she said that we would have to have permission from whoever owns the property right there where we are talking about, so I spoke to Evan at Quiet Waters park, and he said he thinks that it is owned by DOT (Department of Transportation). I don't think we can just easily put up any kind of tape or signs without the proper authority telling us that we can. But I think they are all good ideas, but most likely this season might be over and done by the time we get any permission. I will see what I can find out, and if anyone has any friends of knows anyone that works in any of these places, see if you can get any answers regarding what we are discussing here for signs or tape. Thanks for all the help too.

[Sally]

Hello all,

I wonder why the no trespassing signs were placed there. Are people adhering to the posted signage.

I have always been nervous about being approached by police if I stayed on the shoulder too long.  Anyone ever have an issue while observing the eagles.

Thanks for your help.

Sally

[naturegirl]

Sally in 2018 many times cops would come by and ask people to leave. As a rule I only stay long enough to check on health and  wel being of the family (nest ok, chicks ok parents alive ...) and i pull off on the shoulder. i think the signs have been there for years.

[Rockitglider]

Hi Sally,

I was approached by an officer,  and he asked what I was doing and I explained what I was doing, but I was bagged for eagle watch and I was only 20 feet off the road and nowhere near the signs, and he didn't have a problem with me being there.

[Sally]

Thank you Naturegirl and Kit for the additional info.  

[naturegirl]

Sally i started a new thread just about this and Kit has added some wonderful new info so we can work on this together and make it happen for our eagles