JULY 17: The nest is OK and the power poles and lines are protected

[NewMexiKen]

The nest has almost disappeared behind a limber Melaleuca tree which now droops down in front of it. FPL has completed their pruning and the nest appears to be in good shape. FPL has also restored the protective equipment which protects the eagles and other large birds. You may recall that Hurricane Irma knocked down the power lines last autumn and FPL took emergency measures to restore power. The insulators on the power poles and the high voltage conductor lines were left without  protective covers which are designed to reduce the danger of electrocution of eagles and other large birds whose wings are long enough to come in contact with them and complete a circuit.

The nest is somewhat weathered, as would be expected at this time of year, but appears to be essentially intact:



To locate the nest, just line it up with the transformer on the pole in front of the nest, moving a bit more to the left than usual:



This is the power pole in front of the nest, newly outfitted with insulator covers and conductor sheaths which extent out 2-3 feet along each of the three wires:

 

This is the power pole to the west of the nest. I believe that the ribbed cylinders are lightning arresters which protect the lines and transformers from power surges due to lightning strikes:



Here is the pole to the east. The "live" wires next to the pole are all covered:



The spiral bird divertors (yellow "curly-Q's") have been replaced and re-positioned:



Back in February 2009, the first season we started observing the nest, the wires in front of the nest had already been fitted with yellow "Curly Q's" but the pole was unprotected. However, FPL modified it when they were made aware of the existence of the nest:



We really appreciate the efforts of FPL to protect these eagles!