Big Pine Key Eagle Nest Missing

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission biologist Steve Nesbitt was hopeful but unsure about what to expect last week when he and fellow state biologist John White and their pilot flew over the Keys hunting for eagle nests. Armed with a hand-held global-positioning satellite system that told him where the nests were located last year, Nesbitt wanted to know if hurricanes Wilma and Katrina had torn down nests that were then not rebuilt.

The results were good: Out of 11 nests he was looking for from Key West to just north of Key Largo, seven were active, and he saw another that may have been.
At one place near where a nest had been, a lone bird sat ''standing watch,'' suggesting the likely presence of a nest under construction.

Two nests were missing, one on Big Pine Key and the other on the mainland in the northern part of Monroe County.

''It was extremely productive and very encouraging that the birds are doing so well,'' Nesbitt said. The Keys results are further proof that eagles statewide continue to make a strong comeback after two years of pounding by hurricane winds.

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