FEB 16: I received this report from a participant on the South Florida Audubon Society SW Regional Library wetlands bird walk :
My parents visited the eagle nest one day this week. They saw both the male and female there eating. One was on the side of the nest shredding its meal and then the other flew in with a fish. As the one came in, the other flew to the Australian Pine tree where we saw them on the January walk with you.
Is it common for them to continue to visit the nest even if the babies have died?
We visited the nest this afternoon from about 1:40 to 2:30 PM. It looks like a branch fell on the nest today from the storm that came through this morning.
I don't think they liked it, as they were trying to tear away some of its branches. The limb itself looks like it is too big and awkward for them to move in one piece.
We saw both eagles - one was at the nest and then started calling - the other one flew nearby with a fish and the one on the nest went out to meet him/her - they both flew around for a minute and then landed, one on the nest and the other on a branch higher up in that tree. Pretty neat!
Will FWC continue to protect the nest once they leave for the season? Just curious. If that branch stays there and they don't like it, might they move to a different location (building a new nest)?
My reply: Last year they stayed around the nest until the end of May despite not even breeding. They have a strong bond with the nesting territory. If a nest is destroyed they usually will try to build another nest in the same territory. Sometimes they may build two or more nests and use them as alternative breeding sites.
Even if they abandon the nest the FWC rules require the nest tree to be protected for an additional three years, as they have sometimes been known to return within that time frame. The adults have been seen there occasionally in mid-summer.
Thanks for giving me permission to post your interesting observations. We were there earlier around noon and only saw one adult deep in the nest behind the newly felled branch.
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