SWFL Eagles 10-21-26. 💕M15 & F 26💕! MORNING TOWER WORK; M15 VISITS THE PASTURE 10-20-26!

Video includes cam and ground footage from 10-21-26, plus cam footage from 10-20-26 and 10-19-26. ➡️ I posted the SW Forida Eagle Cam announcement on F26's naming here:    • Запись   Video opens with M15 and F26 arriving late morning at the nest tower. They bring three sticks and one load of nest material. Video has captions noting the activity. At 06:23, an eagle is seen behind the tower chasing an Osprey. This was a young subadult eagle chasing the Osprey. I had just left the tower and watched some of the chase from the side of the road. The next segment (08:05) is footage from 10-20-26. M15 visits the pond, then perches in the nest tree. CamOps finds an adult eagle perched in the SE pine perch tree, likely F26, while M15 is in the pasture. The last segment (10:18) is 10-19-26 footage of an Osprey catching a fish in the pasture pond. M15, please tell F26 about this benefit of nesting in the pasture. Others catch fish for you! 😉 ➡️ I watched M15 and F26 back around the territory together starting in September. (I found M15 late August, did not find F26 back in August). They were active around a communications (cell) tower in the territory, as well as some different trees around the territory. Their activity led me to believe they may be looking to start an alternate nest. M15 and F26 started bringing a few sticks to the tower, and that activity increased at the beginning of October. The tower is on private property, so I notified property owners, discussed what the activity meant for the property owners/protection of the eagles, and what to do in the event of an emergency situation involving the eagles. The tower company was notified; repairs/maintenance on the tower are on hold until post season. This is standard operating procedure with tower companies here in Florida. Both M15 and F26 bring materials and work on building the nest. Nest building is part of their bonding, and they are still building their bond. Does this mean the eagles will nest here? There is no way to know for sure. M15 and Harriet had N2, the alternate nest in the W pasture, and never nested there. M15 is regularly visiting the pasture and his nest tree; he does not work on the nest. F26 has visited the nest tree several times with M15, although she has not been to the nest. That is a significant behavior to note. Here is some brief information about eagles on cell towers: We do not want our eagles nesting on communications towers or transmission towers. The eagles choose to nest on these structures, likely for a variety of reasons, and that may be different depending on the pair. In some areas, too many native trees have been taken down for development. Eagles may choose towers for safety/security, as the towers are high and provide a great view for keeping the territory secure. The towers, with their height, offer a natural buffer from foot disturbance. Eagles "may" choose towers to nest on if they were hatched/raised on a tower (current study on that is ongoing here in Florida). ➡️ ➡️ Note: 1. The tower company has halted repairs/maintenance on the tower, and work will resume post season. The tower continues to operate as normal otherwise. 2. The nest will not be removed from the tower without a USFWS permit. Typically, those are done post season here in Florida. 3. The fledge rate for tower nests is equivalent to the fledge rate for tree nests here in Florida (exception: 2022, Hurricane Ian + avian flu) 4. Eagles nesting on towers receive the same protections as eagles nesting in trees. 5. A camera will not be installed on the tower as season is underway (disturbance). 6. L1 (Level 1) is the bottom level; L4 (Level 4) in the top level; the Nest is on Level 4; the height of L4 is 148'. 7. Twenty percent of the known eagle nests in Florida are on manmade structures (communications towers, transmission towers). Cam1 - https://www.youtube.com/live/YGaF2La0... Cam 2- https://www.youtube.com/live/BbDdI0MD... Pond Cam - https://www.youtube.com/live/FCgli5GQ... SWFL Eagle Cam official Facebook page:   / southwestfloridaeaglecam   The FB page is public; you do not need a FB account to view the page. The official website is currently offline. Video courtesy of SWFL Eagle Cam and Dick Pritchett Real Estate, Inc.