Bald eagle nest recovery 9 months after Hurricane Ian

The bald eagle is the animal symbol of the United States. While they’re found all across the state, Southwest and Central Florida are the areas where most eagles dare to nest.

After Hurricane Ian, nearly 20% of our eagles lost their nests.

“I come pretty often, almost every week. I’m really in love with these eagles,” said Tito Saunders, a wildlife photographer.

It’s the most famous eagle nest in the area and a true spectacle, but some consider the eagles as extended family. Many felt the pain when Harriet disappeared in February.

“I was happy-go-lucky coming down here every day, and now I kind of like pray, and I hope that she someday returns,” said Steven Wickwire, an eagle photographer.

Although, before she disappeared, she launched a comeback after Hurricane Ian.

“This year, Ian destroyed the nest, and I watched them build it in a couple of weeks. It’s amazing. There it is,” said Wickwire.

“Anything that depends upon trees for nesting was really impacted by Hurricane Ian,” said Julie Wraithmell, the executive director of Audubon Florida. “We saw more than 140 eagles nests that were destroyed as a result of the storm season last year.”

Audobon Florida is a dedicated group of volunteers keeping their eyes on nests to help monitor the nation’s mascot, the program is called EagleWatch.

“It started in the early ’90s, and that was a time when really there were only about 600 eagle nest in Florida,” said Wraithmell. “Remember, we were down to as few as 100 in the 1970s, and so every nest really mattered.”

Currently, that population has grown to 2,500 pairs. EagleWatch data shows roughly 70% of pairs that lost their nests in Ian rebuilt in the same season but sadly in smaller, weaker trees because that’s all that was available.

“Eagle nests can weigh more than a ton. They’re these gigantic structures that are put kind of in the notch of pine trees, and the birds will use them year over year over year,” said Wraithmell.

In other words, the loss of a nest has a great impact.

Click here to learn more about EagleWatch and how you can get involved.