Thursday, January 27 - 9:45 AM Nest and eaglet OK

[NewMexiKen]

Mary Lou and I arrived at the nest around 9:40 and watched for about 1 1/2 hours. When we got there the female was roosting in the tall roadside pine just east of the nest, and the male was on the top of the pine that hangs over the wires just to the west of the nest. They were quite alert. We heard the sound of someone/something moving in the woods under the nest. Both eagles flew up and circled the nest tree several times, finally roosting on the nest tree to the right and above the nest-- the male on the usual horizontal limb, and the female about 10 feet above him. The we saw the cause of the disturbance-- it turned out to be an authorized environmental scientist who was doing work for the SFWMD. There are new survey posts with red flags all along the fence line in front of the nest. Work was scheduled to begin soon on the resurfacing of Pines Boulevard and construction of a sidewalk in front of the nest, but I am not sure of the significance of either the survey or the environmental assessment.

I updated the Eagle Milestone Spreadsheet. See latest report HERE

Male roosting west of nest:



Female roosting in tree to the east:



Nest appears to be in good shape with head of one eaglet visible:



Male takes flight and circles nest:



Male briefly returns to top of original roost tree:



Female flies to upper branches of nest tree, looks down at nest:



Male (below) joins female on the horizontal limb above nest:

[Kathy]

I don't think it a good idea that they start making all that noise with trucks and all while there are young ones in the nest.  Especially after the reaction of the birds with someone coming so close to the nest?  Is there any way for them to postpone this until the young ones have fledged?

[NewMexiKen]

Hi, Kathy, I share your concerns about the need to protect the nest from undue disturbance during the nesting season.

The FDOT has briefed the Pembroke Pines Mayor's Bald Eagle Sanctuary Committee and assured us they will abide by the State and Federal guidelines that prevent unnecessary disturbance of a Bald Eagle nest during breeding season. Generally, disturbances within 330 feet of the nest are restricted, to the extent that they exceed any ongoing disturbances. The southern edge of Pines Boulevard pavement is about 150 feet from the eagle nest. The eagles have tolerated the traffic noise, grass cutting on the swale, work on the power lines and nearby trees, emergency vehicle sirens, and of course, pedestrians and onlookers. As we understand it, the heavy construction will be phased to avoid this immediate area during the nesting season, which extends until the young birds, if any, fledge and become independent of the nest, usually by late May or early June.

I am expecting that the Committee (chaired by the President of the South Florida Audubon Society) will be meeting in the near future to obtain an update on the planned highway improvements, as well as progress towards installation of a nest camera, development of a City eagle protection ordinance, and the City's designation of the wooded plot as a Bald Eagle Sanctuary.

For your information, Kelly Smith, Trisha Norton and Al Griffin are local citizen eagle watchers as am I, who were appointed to the Bald Eagle Sanctuary Committee. You may find minutes of past meetings and more information at links on the main Eagle Watch page: http://www.rosyfinch.com/BaldEagleNest.html

[Kathy]

Thank you Ken and I really enjoyed sharing camera info and taking pics last Sunday!

Kathy

"Openness to the natural world and our response to it lie at the core of what we do and why we do it." (Fr. Tom Pincelli)

Nature is like a spider web - if you pull on one string, you affect everything else in it

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 15:41:56 -0800
From: [hidden email]
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Thursday, January 27 - 9:45 AM Nest and eaglet OK

Hi, Kathy, I share your concerns about the need to protect the nest from undue disturbance during the nesting season.

The FDOT has briefed the Pembroke Pines Mayor's Bald Eagle Sanctuary Committee and assured us they will abide by the State and Federal guidelines that prevent unnecessary disturbance of a Bald Eagle nest during breeding season. Generally, disturbances within 330 feet of the nest are restricted, to the extent that they exceed any ongoing disturbances. The southern edge of Pines Boulevard pavement is about 150 feet from the eagle nest. The eagles have tolerated the traffic noise, grass cutting on the swale, work on the power lines and nearby trees, emergency vehicle sirens, and of course, pedestrians and onlookers. As we understand it, the heavy construction will be phased to avoid this immediate area during the nesting season, which extends until the young birds, if any, fledge and become independent of the nest, usually by late May or early June.

I am expecting that the Committee (chaired by the President of the South Florida Audubon Society) will be meeting in the near future to obtain an update on the planned highway improvements, as well as progress towards installation of a nest camera, development of a City eagle protection ordinance, and the City's designation of the wooded plot as a Bald Eagle Sanctuary.

For your information, Kelly Smith, Trisha Norton and Al Griffin are local citizen eagle watchers as am I, who were appointed to the Bald Eagle Sanctuary Committee. You may find minutes of past meetings and more information at links on the main Eagle Watch page: http://www.rosyfinch.com/BaldEagleNest.html

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[Kathy]

Ken we will have to keep an eye on the nest the next few days as there is a risk for fire warning in south florida where there will be a low humidity and high temperatures.