One of my projects has been keeping watch over a Bald Eagle nest in neighboring Pembroke Pines. Over five breeding seasons, since 2008, I have collected information about their breeding activities. Dozens of other nest watchers who have an interest in protecting their habitat and learning about the eagles' behavior contribute their ground observations to my Pembroke Pines Eagle Nest Watch FORUM, and I compile the data to obtain a broader picture of their breeding biology. Here is a spreadsheet and a table comparing milestone events in each breeding cycle.
Watching an eagle at its nest can be like watching grass grow. Yet, sometimes subtle behavioral changes can signal important events, such as the laying of the first egg and its hatching. Although our attention may be focused on the eagle, we are not oblivious to other happenings.
Once a hummingbird appeared at the nest and perched right in front of an eagle as it was incubating. It was so interesting to ponder the difference in size between these two extremes that I totally forgot that I had a camera! Another time, an Osprey angrily followed an eagle that was carrying a fish to the nest site. Undoubtedly, the eagle had stolen its meal. Rather than flying directly to the nest, the eagle circled and flew off out of sight, emerging a few minutes later with the fish but without the Osprey.
However, I was lucky enough to capture some unexpected scenes. Most recently was an encounter between several Fish Crows and a Merlin, just one day after the single eaglet had fledged and disappeared. The crows were harassing one of the adult eagles as it was roosting near the nest. I interpreted this a a possible attempt to distract the eagle so that others of the flock could steal remains of prey that the adult had left in the nest to attract the missing youngster.
The crows repeatedly dived down just over the eagle's head whenever the eagle was occupied with preening.
The eagle seemed only mildly disturbed.
Just after I photographed one of the crows there was a rush of wings from behind me.
A Merlin was in full pursuit of the crow. I must apologize for the poor quality of my photos as the light was harsh and I did not have time to switch my shutter settings.
The crow headed for the Merlin's favorite roosting place, but had to yield its perch under attack.
The crow actually started out after the Merlin!
The battle went on for several minutes, the crow intent on returning to the falcon's favored roost.
Finally the crows relented and the Merlin settled down.
A couple of days before, a Cattle Egret stole my attention as it chased after Halloween Pennant dragonflies. The egret stealthily crept up on an insect (Click on the image to see the location of its prey).
Success! (Note that the egret has pinkish-orange breeding plumes).
Other incidental sightings of note include this Swallow-tailed Kite that passed directly over the eagle nest.
A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks courted on a tall light fixture nearby.
A dark morph Short-tailed Hawk, ready to pounce upon any unsuspecting smaller bird disguised itself by soaring in a flock of vultures.
A Sharp-shinned Hawk raced overhead.
A flock of Cedar Waxwings once appeared against a rainy sky.
A Palm Warbler visited as I watched the nest, up close and personal.
Flocks of long-legged waders, such as these Wood Storks, flew overhead.
A colony of Monk Parakeets occupied a nest on a light pole across the street from the nest.
An oddity was this Northern Mockingbird with a badly deformed bill. It was singing vigorously as I took its picture.
A Gray Squirrel tight-roped across in front of the eagle nest.
Some of the sightings must be classified as "un-natural."
While we were staying on Marco Island we briefly visited Shell Island Road in Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The former site of Briggs Nature Center has been closed and converted into an office of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and houses law-enforcement personnel. However, there was a volunteer interpreter available at the overlook at the far end of the 0.5 mile boardwalk loop. Controlled burns were going on and this limited our exploration of the area.
Along the road we saw this Red-shouldered Hawk.
An endangered Gopher Tortoise was crossing Shell Island Road in front of our car. An oncoming vehicle had already stopped. The tortoise wasted no time moving off the roadway and disappeared in the roadside brush.
We walked a short nature trail at the far end of Shell Road and saw several Hermit Thrushes.
There was also a poorly-maintained Catclaw Trail that yielded this close view of a Little Blue Heron
On our way back home we stopped at Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, an elongated strip of Bald Cypress forest about 20 miles long and five miles wide which is dotted by many lakes. Fakahatchee (which means "dark water") is the ancient name that was used by the indiginous people for the extensive swamp along the western border of the Everglades in southwestern Florida. "Strand" is defined as a beach, or the land bordering a body of water. Big Cypress National Preserve occupies over 1,100 square miles to the east of Fakahatchee Strand.
"Beneath a protective canopy of bald cypress trees is a slow-moving slough that shields the forest interior from extreme cold temperatures, and this fosters a high level of rare and endangered tropical plant species. The Strand is the only place in the world where bald cypress and royal palm trees share the forest canopy, and it also contains 44 native orchids and 14 native bromeliad species. It's a haven for wildlife as well, and Florida panthers, Florida black bears, Eastern indigo snakes, Everglades minks, and diamondback terrapins can still be found here. The migratory bird life is quite spectacular as well." Reference:http://www.floridastateparks.org/fakahatcheestrand/
On our last visit to Big Cypress Bend we encountered a Black Bear which ran ahead of Mary Lou on the boardwalk before jumping off and hiding in the brush only several yards away. We did not see any bears this time. Spring migration had not yet picked up, and there were remarkably few birds.
The boardwalk traverses a cypress forest with some trees that are over 1,000 years old.
This old bald cypress had an interesting bark pattern.
A Bald Eagle nest has been active every year since 1991. This year a single eaglet was reared. It was almost ready to fly, and roosted nearly out of sight on a branch in the nest tree. Here is the huge nest.
We saw colorful Northern Cardinals...
...Great Crested Flycatchers...
...a Black-and-White Warbler...
...and a pair of Carolina Wrens that provided me with some of the best photos I have ever obtained of this species. They were courting, singing a duet and seemed to ignore our presence.
Back home, our local Bald Eagle youngster was preparing for free flight. Here she exercises her wings and is able to rise a few inches above the nest platform.
On March 26, multiple observers reported that the eaglet was not seen at the nest. The next morning we arrived there around 9:30 AM and found the nest empty with no eagles in sight. At 9:50 an adult suddenly appeared on the nest, having flown into the wind from behind. It immediately began eating what looked like very fresh bloody prey. It was possibly the male adult, judging by the low forehead (little angle between beak and forehead). This is the expected behavior of the adults after the eaglet leaves the nest. Hunger will normally drive the youngster to return to the nest to be fed within 2-3 days-- at least that has been our experience. We heard no vocalizations to suggest the presence of the eaglet.
At about 85 days of age, this eaglet was well prepared for flight, even though she did not appear to be as active and did not climb up on branches for 2-3 days before fledging, as we have seen in the past. Normally the newly fledged eaglet will climb up to the upper branches of one of the trees in the local wooded area, then travel back to the nest by taking short flights from one treetop to another.
The next day only the female parent was visible, roosting on a snag near the nest.
Just as expected, after three days of anxious waiting on the part of the eagle watchers, the eaglet returned to the nest.
We generally expect her to return there to be fed for another 4 to six weeks as she gains hunting skills and independence. The female parent was standing guard nearby.
She flew out in front of the nest and provided a great photo opportunity
Follow events and photos on my Bald Eagles of Broward County FORUM