Bird Lovers Gawk at Eagle Nest in Pembroke Pines
Eagles come to nest in Broward suburbs

On the south side of Pines Boulevard, about a half-mile east of U.S. 27 in Pembroke Pines, a group of bird-watchers, animal lovers and curious gawkers gather every day with binoculars and cameras.

They set their sights up high on a four-foot-wide nest bustling with eagle activity that is considered a blessing and a rarity.

One watcher said it makes her proud to be an American.

Inside the nest is the first parental pair of American bald eagles in Broward County since 1972.

The mother eagle spends most of her day feeding and pruning her two fuzzy-feathered eaglets, about five weeks young, while her mate keeps a proud watch perched nearby in a lean forest of skeletal melaleuca trees.

'To see a nesting pair and their eaglets in a county that has not had such a thing in so long is simply a thrill,' said Lynda White, EagleWatch coordinator at the Audubon Society's Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland.

The birds -- once an endangered species -- are thriving in the crux of an Australian pine just 210 feet from a bustling highway and across the street from West Broward High School. A construction project by the Broward School District to install traffic signals nearby was halted last week and will not resume until the eaglets are able to fly, probably sometime in April.

SPECIES REBOUNDS

Sharyn Hood, assistant regional biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the eagles signal a huge success story in the nation's effort to preserve our nation's symbol of freedom.

The American bald eagle was placed on the federal endangered list in 1967 and removed in 2007. In 2008, it was removed from Florida's list of endangered wildlife. The iconic bird has rebounded strongly over the last two decades, largely because of the ban on the pesticide DDT and increased protection of nests and habitat.

White said that only 417 nesting pairs were recorded in a 1963 count of the continental United States. Recent estimates place the number at 11,000 pairs in the 48 contiguous states.

Florida alone claims 1,280 pairs. But Hood said that while environmentalists are beyond excited about the bald eagle's rebound, they remain vigilant about securing the birds' future. And they are keeping a sharp eye on the family nest in Pembroke Pines.

KEEPING THEM SAFE

Even though the eagles don't seem to know the difference between cars and binoculars, they are prone to be harmed by the excitement.

'We want people to enjoy the birds, but we want them to keep their distance,' Hood said.

Still protected by the Golden Eagle Protection Act and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines recommend that human activity be no closer than 330 feet.

Disturbing the nests or the eagles in any manner carries stiff fines or even jail time.

Lisa Baumbach, a board member of the Broward County Audubon Society, suggests that people who want to see the 'once-in-a-lifetime sight' can, but that they leave pets home, park away from the area, not bring food or drink, and be reverently quiet.

'The most important thing is to be silent. The worst thing to happen would be to startle the eaglets. They could easily fall, break their necks and die,' Baumbach said.

Better, people can get reports on the birds and read about their history on a blog created by bird-watcher and Audubon Society member Ken Schneider, blog.rosyfinch.com. The link to the 'local bald eagle nest' is on the left side.

THE DISCOVERY

The nest was first reported by Silver Trails Middle School science teacher Kelly Smith.

Earlier this school year, her seventh-grade class completed a science project, led by student Jesus Hoyos, about how traffic conditions on the busy street affected the eagle family.

The project, which won first place at the Broward County Fair, concluded that traffic did not interrupt their daily activities.

On his blog, Schneider, a retired medical doctor, provides an array of information, a diary of the Pembroke Pines nest and a photo gallery that chronicles the eaglets from conception.

Schneider first saw, and photographed, the eagle parents mating in December 2008 on a rooftop near his Miramar home. But the hatchlings are not likely the duo's first clutch.

Aerial photographs by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission taken on April 9, 2008, show one baby chick in the nest.

'It's an amazing and wonderful story that the eagles have habitualized to the city, but they are in a critical time,' Schneider said. `Now that the nest has gathered such attention, we're hoping the ethic continues to protect the birds.'

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