Bald Eagles spotted in Miami Lakes

[miamigrrl]

For the past several weeks we've observed a bald eagle showing up in the same location in Miami Lakes.  Last week he/she was joined by another.

We see them just about every evening feeding in the same tree.  We don't see any nests nearby.  The couple of times we caught them flying in or out of the area they've flown to or from the NW.

I've been trying to take photos of them with my zoom lens, but every time I have it with me, it's raining and they don't show.  I'm curious to find out if they're using one of the nearby known nests (pines or medley) or if this is a new nesting pair.

This is the first time ever that we have seen bald eagles in miami lakes.  As soon as I get some good photos I'll post them.

[Trisha]

Thanks for the new info...... that's especially interesting to me in that I lived in Miami Lakes for quite a few years. Is the eagle spotted in tall Austrailian Pine trees as they favor at the Pines location? Can you tell what prey they are bringing in to eat? We saw them here mainly with fish or cattle egrets, but also an occasional small mammal or snake. I can't wait to see your photos...good luck with them!

[miamigrrl]

It seems they like the field we've spotted them in because of the large number and variety of birds available for hunting.  We've seen them eating birds - I think dove.  

The funny thing is that they like to perch in two particular trees that don't have any other trees around them.  The trees aren't far from the road, so you get a really good look at them when they're there.  One is a fairly tall pine tree but not an Australian pine.  The other tree is shorter and doesn't have any leaves.  The eagles seem to be very comfortable in this suburban location. :)  The road gets alot of traffic and there are alot of houses close by.

[Trisha]

They definitely prefer trees that are more open and allows them unobstructed views of their surroundings. The eagle pair located here was around for a long time acting as you describe before their nest was spotted in the tallest tree in the "nest woods", as we call it.

It's getting near time for the pairs to return to their nest areas to rebuild existing nests, or perhaps with yours, start a new nest. Look for them to be carrying sticks or straw (like from a field) and that may lead you to a nest. It is exciting that you see 2....do they both have the completely white heads that would tell they are around 5 yrs old and of breeding age?

Our eagles seemed completely comfortable in this urban setting also. They would often perch in trees located the closest to the watchers. These trees always had the most open views as they were on the edge of the nest woods, but closest to the highway, where cars zoomed by. Experts in the field have told us that if they have a nest they do not like intruders coming close to it. They will even abandon their young on the nest if threatened by people coming too close. Keep us posted!

[riku0142]

wow i cant belive that the bald eagles are returning so soon!

[Trisha]

Just wondered if you have seen the eagles anymore there in M. Lakes?

[Avian Photographer]

I live in the area;  what time have you seen them? I'd like to try to photograph them.

[miamigrrl]

Looks like the eagles may have moved on.  We haven't seen them in about a week or two.  If you're interested, a nice photo of both eagles is in the Miami Laker newspaper.  My mom has a copy that I'll try to scan.

[miamigrrl]

Here's a photo of one of the eagles on Sept 23rd.

[Avian Photographer]

I ran into another photographer who spotted the eagles in the field in the late afternoon in the last week and likewise saw what appeared to be the same eagles in Palm Springs North feeding on some ducks in one of the lakes.  

He advised that a wildlife officer advised him of a nest West of I-75.  I think it just might be the same eagles who nest in the Pines. There is no sign of any nest in Miami Lakes.

[Mrs. Smith's Classes]

The eagles that nest off of Pines Blvd are believed to spend quite a bit of time at the lake in the Sunset Lakes subdivision off of Miramar Pkwy.  From looking at the photo of the area that the Miami Lakes eagles have been spotted (previous thread), I would think that it is quite likely that they are the same eagles from the Pines nest.  Very interesting!

[2 Wild and Crazy Birders]

We have spotted one immature and one adult Bald Eagle in the Miami Lakes area near the Opa-Locka Airport four to five times over a three year span.  First time we saw the adult was three years ago, the bird was perched on a pine over a lake in the vicinity of Eagles Nest (how ironic).  The immature has been seen on and off since last year, we have not seen them since May though.  
There are also two Red-tailed hawks that frequent the area of Opa-Locka Airport.  We have seen them almost every day for the past two weeks at the radio towers on the NW side of the airport, they may be roosting in a bald tree along the canal on the north side of the airport.  Last year we also counted two Red-tails during the Christmas Bird Count, they are presumed to be the same two birds that we have been seeing recently.  Some mating behavior was observed last spring but we have yet to see any young around.

[Mike Fossler]

See my post on 'Single adult flying above nest 10/4' for location of Miramar roosting location. It seems to be almost a straight line between the Miami Lakes sightings and the Miramar little island.
MF