Florida's bald eagle population is up 9 percent in the past four years, an encouraging trend for our endangered national symbol.
In 1973, there were an estimated 88 Florida nests. Today, based on a 2011 aerial survey, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates there are 1,457 active bald eagle nests in Florida, including five in Lee County and nine in Sarasota County.
The increase is attributed to a 2008 FWC bald eagle management plan.
Florida’s bald eagle population is up 9 percent in the past four years.
"Bald eagles have made a remarkable recovery in Florida," said FWC Chairman Kenneth Wright.
The FWC and Audubon are working together to protect bald eagles in Florida. For 20 years, Audubon Florida has recruited citizen-scientists to monitor eagles and their nests through the EagleWatch program in more than 40 counties, including Lee and Charlotte.
By monitoring more than 20 percent of the state's nesting pairs, volunteers make a significant difference in conserving the species, officials said.
Find a bald eagle nest locator at MyFWC.com/Eagle.
"Audubon is proud to have played a role in the bald eagle's amazing success story in Florida," said Eric Draper, executive director for Audubon Florida.
Working with ranchers and other landowners to protect bald eagle habitat is another priority for Audubon, with its involvement going back 50 years to the start of the Cooperative Kissimmee Eagle Sanctuary Program.
Florida's greatest concentrations of bald eagle nesting territories are clustered around coastal and freshwater areas such as the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. In 2011, Osceola and Polk counties ranked first and second, respectively, for highest number of documented bald eagle nests.
Bald eagles almost disappeared from the lower 48 states by the mid-20th century, with an estimated 417 pairs in the United States in 1963. The use of the now-banned pesticide DDT was causing eggshells to weaken and break under the weight of adults incubating eggs.
A healthy and stable eagle population in Florida depends on appropriate nesting and foraging habitats, as well as protection from disturbance during the nesting season.
The bald eagle is no longer listed as an endangered or threatened species but it remains federally protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and by state rule (F.A.C. 68A-16.002).
It is illegal to feed, disturb, take or possess a bald eagle, its feathers, nest or eggs.