DEC 14 Juvenile in west Miramar; none in nest area DEC 17 10:30 AM

[NewMexiKen]

On December 14 a first-year (juvenile) Bald Eagle suddenly rose up along the SW 196th Avenue Canal at the intersection with the unpaved Miramar Parkway right of way. It was very possibly the one from the Pembroke Pines nest (Spirit) as she remained dependent upon the adults through the summer and never had time to migrate north. It flew away to the NW in the direction of the nest. I had trouble getting a clear shot through the trees.





This morning we visited the nest at around 10:15-10:45 and saw no sign of any eagles in the area.

[Rockitglider]

Hello Ken,

Is that juvenile from last year? That's a good shot of it, I wonder where it was going? I put up some new pictures today of Deerfield nest.

Regards, Kit

[NewMexiKen]

Hi, Kit--

The young eagle was definitely a juvenile (the term used to describe an immature in its first year plumage) so it is very possible and even likely that this is Spirit, the surviving eaglet from the second brood. She probably never wandered north for the summer, as is common for south Florida eaglets, because she remained dependent upon the parents well into the summer months.

Hard to say where she was going, but her flight was in the general direction of the PP nest. There have been no reports of a juvenile at that nest so far this breeding season.  

[Rockitglider]

Hello Ken,

Do you think they would let the juvenile get close to the nest, or even interact with them (it)?, or do they cut ties with the parents after the leave the nest?

Thanks again, Kit

[NewMexiKen]

Observers usually report that the pair of eagles will aggressively drive away any immature birds which appear at the nest or within their territory. We have seen a few exceptions where the juvenile was able to roost near the nest, at least for a short time. A few years back two sub-adults kept approaching the Pembroke Pines nest and the resident pair even left the eggs untended while driving them away. Some think that the new female (Jewel) may have been one of them in the weeks before the original female (Joy) disappeared, but there is no evidence to support this theory.