Hello. I'm planning a visit to FL later this spring to visit family in DeLand. I've read that FL has a particularly large concentration of bald eagles, and I'm definitely willing to make use of expected free time to do some day trips and photo outings. I've done some preliminary web research and learned that the areas around Tampa and around Lake Okeechobee might both offer promise. Would anyone be able to offer more details or insight? Thanks!
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Bald eagles in FL (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter sbutk
- Start date
Dave 2x
Well-known member
If you are going to Okeechobee then try J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area - always had Bald Eagles there and you get the added bonus that this is a very reliable place for two of Florida's other specialities - Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Bachman's Sparrow. Closer to DeLand, you should see Bald Eagles at Merritt Island.
Bald Eagle in St. Petersburg.
I'm not sure this would help, as we don't know where the eagle nest is, but we caught this bald eagle on video this weekend in the Tampa area at a football camp that we run. This was at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg.
This bald eagle had stolen a fish from the osprey nest (believed to be on top of the stadium lights) earlier. They had been battling it out overhead until we caught them on tape attacking each other!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvWUv1N45XE
I'm not sure this would help, as we don't know where the eagle nest is, but we caught this bald eagle on video this weekend in the Tampa area at a football camp that we run. This was at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg.
This bald eagle had stolen a fish from the osprey nest (believed to be on top of the stadium lights) earlier. They had been battling it out overhead until we caught them on tape attacking each other!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvWUv1N45XE
Brian2
Well-known member
I haven't been for about ten years now buy before that made annual visits for seven years and never failed to connect with Bald Eagle to the point where I sat in my villa one year watching one fish in the small lake that bordered the garden.
I would think you'll connect at any large body of inland water.
I remember visiting lake Olercheebee to find several birds.
Unless things have changed since my visits.
I would think you'll connect at any large body of inland water.
I remember visiting lake Olercheebee to find several birds.
Unless things have changed since my visits.
Robin Edwards
Well-known member
Mal Taylor
Well-known member
Hi
Take a look at this website which is freely available and in the public domain. https://public.myfwc.com/fwri/eaglenests/nestlocator.aspx#search
It lists all the Bald Eagle nests over a large area of Florida and lets you know about known occupation over recent years when particular areas have been surveyed.
You would never get this kind of information here in the UK due to persecution. One day perhaps.
Enjoy
Mal
OMG, Mal... thank you SO much for that nest locator! That is going to be a priceless resource!
Daniel Martin
Well-known member
We have visited Florida a few times in the past few years and have often seen them circling very high above the parks. The last was over Aquatica, just after we had pictures taken with a captive bird. Superb. The guys with the Eagle confirmed that they are not actually rare in Florida and can be seen by staring at the skyline whilst on a sun bed! And it worked.......
Getting a little more specific
Hello again,
After doing some web research and with my trip to FL approaching, I’ve come back with some questions. Turns out I may not have as much time for side-trips as I’d first imagined, so I’ve counted on remaining closer to DeLand. I mapped out pretty much two separate excursions and would be interested in anyone’s opinions as to whether they sound likely to bear fruit, or if there’s any flaw in my logic. I concentrated highly on the site provided by Mal Taylor to locate active nests and hopefully take us through regions of highest activity concentration.
Dave 2x had actually put in a plug for Merritt Island and the SpaceCoast area, and indeed they look to me like they could be promising. One idea of mine is to set out from DeLand on 44E to New Smyrna Beach, and get on 1S. Then continue on Kennedy Pkwy. Take A. Max Brewer Mem. Pkwy. back to Titusville, and apparently pass about half a dozen nests on the way (one even with its own designated viewing platform).
A second idea is to leave DeLand and head north on 15/17, up to the Lake George area, which I’ve read ought to have a high concentration of eagles. Particularly I thought to check out Volusia Bar Rd., Nine Mile Point Rd., and the Lake George Conservation Area. Again, according to that site, these areas do seem to contain a pretty good number of active nests, and I’ve gotten pretty eager to explore them.
If anybody has any comments or any other ideas to offer, they’d be very much appreciated. Thanks!
Hello again,
After doing some web research and with my trip to FL approaching, I’ve come back with some questions. Turns out I may not have as much time for side-trips as I’d first imagined, so I’ve counted on remaining closer to DeLand. I mapped out pretty much two separate excursions and would be interested in anyone’s opinions as to whether they sound likely to bear fruit, or if there’s any flaw in my logic. I concentrated highly on the site provided by Mal Taylor to locate active nests and hopefully take us through regions of highest activity concentration.
Dave 2x had actually put in a plug for Merritt Island and the SpaceCoast area, and indeed they look to me like they could be promising. One idea of mine is to set out from DeLand on 44E to New Smyrna Beach, and get on 1S. Then continue on Kennedy Pkwy. Take A. Max Brewer Mem. Pkwy. back to Titusville, and apparently pass about half a dozen nests on the way (one even with its own designated viewing platform).
A second idea is to leave DeLand and head north on 15/17, up to the Lake George area, which I’ve read ought to have a high concentration of eagles. Particularly I thought to check out Volusia Bar Rd., Nine Mile Point Rd., and the Lake George Conservation Area. Again, according to that site, these areas do seem to contain a pretty good number of active nests, and I’ve gotten pretty eager to explore them.
If anybody has any comments or any other ideas to offer, they’d be very much appreciated. Thanks!
