NOV 18, 19 and 20 updates

[NewMexiKen]

This morning (November 20), Phil Martin reported that he was at the nest this morning and both Bald Eagles were performing maintenance on the nest. He wrote:
"Based upon my estimates and past history, I suspect the female will lay her eggs in the next week."

On November 18 Phil provided this nice photo. He wrote:

I was out to the nest this morning at 8:00am. Both adults were at the nest performing maintenance and periodically fetching branches.



Also, On November 19 I saw an adult fly over west Miramar wetlands from the northwest to southeast from the direction of the Pembroke Pines nest at 6:55 AM.  It was large, probably the female (Jewel) from the nest.



This morning we also obtained an update on emergency repairs which must be made by Florida Power & Light (FPL) on the power pole in front of the nest. This is to restore the street lights on a mile long section of  Pines Boulevard east of US 27 past the nest. This outage poses a serious threat to public safety. Florida Eagle Watch has been in contact with FPL which will expedite the repairs. They will soon be laying eggs so it would be better to get this fixed sooner rather than after the female begins sitting deep in the nest.

Shawnlei Breeding writes (November 20):

I just got off the phone with FPL. They consulted with USFWS and then touched base with me to see what stage the nesting process is in for BO002. I shared the observations from the blog, that the pair was observed copulating 4 days ago but has not laid eggs yet as far as I know.

Their plan is to schedule the repair work ASAP, potentially even tomorrow, and get it done as quickly as possible. They expect it take a few hours max. They will have a consultant on site during the work to observe the eagles’ response and are considering scheduling the work towards mid-day when the eagles are less likely to be present or as active.

I appreciate FPL’s efforts to minimize the disturbance to the nest during this necessary repair. Let me know if anyone has questions.
 
Thanks!
—
Shawnlei Breeding
Audubon EagleWatch Program Manager