SWFL Eagles 10-26-26. 💙 M15 & F26 💙 Morning Mating; F26 Brings Food; Nest Work; + More!

Video includes ground and cam footage from 10-26-26, plus cam footage from 10-24-26. ➡️ I posted the SW Forida Eagle Cam announcement on F26's naming here:    • Запись   Video opens before sunrise (low light) with M15 on the left antenna, and F26 on the stick-stack nest on L1. M15 takes flight, and returns with stick #1 to get the morning started. F26 flies up to L4 to join M15 (01:26). He flies to her and mating follows (not successful, no "cloacal kiss". The cloacal is the brief pressing together of the cloacae to transfer sperm. No worries on the unsuccessful mating. Not all matings are succesful, the eagles are early in the season with plenty of time. F26 leaves, and I missed her return. She brought food back to L1. M15 brings stick #2 to L4 (02:58). He bring nest material (05:56) to L1, briefly chased by a Caracara. F26 is still eating on L1. M15 brings stick #4 to L4 (08:03). I left for a few minutes, and when I returned both were on L4. M15 left first for the morning, followed out by F26. Next up are some commercial breaks! First, an Osprey catches a fish in the pasture pond, shown in normal time plus Slo-mo. White Ibis forage at the pond. Footage from 10-24-26 is next, with a close look at a White Ibis. An Anhinga dries on the fence with some cute tail wagging and wing flapping. Next is an Anhinga (likely the same one) swallowing a fish on the overhang bush. Video close with footage of M15 and F26 perched on the tower in the setting sun. ➡️ I watched M15 and F26 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 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. This 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.