Live Feed of Wild Bald Eagle Nest in MiamiDade County, FL

Ron and Rita lived together in the MiamiDade area since 2015, and nested at this location during the 2019/20, 20/21 and 21/22 seasons. Sadly, in Nov 2022, at the start of the 22/23 season, Rita was severely injured. She will no longer be able to live in the wild. Ron stayed at the nest, and on 122022, a new female arrived. She has been named Rose. This Eagle Nest Cam is made possible by a partnership between Wildlife Rescue of Date County and ZooMiami, with the generous support of the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, and your donations to those organizations. ZooMiami hosts the cameras on the Zoo page, https://www.zoomiami.org/baldeaglecam.'>https://www.zoomiami.org/baldeaglecam.

The Nest:

The original nest was built in an unstable spot, 95 feet up in an Australian Pine. It collapsed in spring 2021 after a heavy storm, dropping the 2 eaglets to the ground. On 03/13/21, Lloyd Brown from Wildlife Rescue of Dade County and Ron Magill from ZooMiami rescued one of the eaglets but, sadly, the other did not survive. The survivor had surgery to repair a broken wing. She was rehabilitated at Wildlife Rescue of Dade County and released near Everglades National Park on 08/21/21. Brown and Magill obtained permission from US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) to install the secure platform for the eagles, out of concern that the pair would try to rebuild the old nest, only to have it fail again.

The USFWS granted approval for the installation of the platform and cameras. The nest base is a 5 ft. diameter wooden Papasan chair, shown to be successful in other eagle nests. It was lined with plastic mesh for airflow and drainage. Small sticks and dried grasses were added to make it more inviting. The constructed nest is located in the same tree, in a more stable spot, about 10 ft. below their previous broken nest. It is braced with 2x4s between the trunk and a few sturdy branches. Inspection and maintenance is conducted in the off season.

The location is being kept private for the protection of the eagles. It is located in MiamiDade County, and is the first nest to be monitored with cameras in the county. We kindly ask that the local community refrain from giving any location information on social media, so as to protect them, and the nest area.

Camera and Sound Information:

Two state of the art, highdefinition cameras were installed by Daniel Montanez, founder of Modern Day Tech Solutions, and sound capability was added for the 202223 season.

The Eagles:

Ron and Rita are named after Ron Magill, Communications Director for ZooMiami, and founder of the Endowment that funds this Eagle Cam, and his lovely wife, Rita.

Rita was banded as a prefledge juvenile on 03/16/ 2011, when she and her sibling fell, uninjured, from their nest in Everglades National Park. As it was a safe location, the eaglets were left on site and raised by their parents. We estimate she hatched in Jan 2011, making her 12 years old in Jan 2023.

Ron is unbanded, but photo comparisons and his behavior lead us to believe he is the same male that partnered with Rita when they were first reported in the 2015.

Rose is considered a subadult eagle with an estimated age of 4+ years. She has not yet developed the full white head and tail of an adult.

Offspring:

Ron and Rita's offspring:
Mar 2017: One eaglet fledged. Unknown for 2016, 2018 and 2019. Failed 2020
2021: Two eaglets. One died, and the other sustained a broken wing, was rehabilitated, and released on 08/21/21.
2022: R1 was laid 11/24/21, R2 11/27, R3 12/01. They hatched on 01/01/22, 01/02, 01/06, respectively. Sadly R3 died within hours. Fledged: R1 missed a branch 032022 and R2 broke free of fishing line 032622. R1 last seen 05/10, R2 06/12.

Ron and Rose's offspring:
2023: R4 was laid 02/04/23 and R5 02/08. They hatched on 03/14 and 03/16. Fledged: 05/29 and 06/04, Last seen: 08/15 and 08/17.

Time ranges to hatch and fledge, respectively: 3540 days, 1014 weeks.
Post fledge, they may follow their parents and stay in the area for 412 weeks before heading north.
The cam confirmed that Ron & Rita stayed in the area all year, periodically visiting the nest. Ron and Rose will likely do the same.

Your support of these eagles and other wildlife is greatly appreciated.
To donate to Wildlife Rescue of Dade County: on our website http://www.Dadewildliferescue.com/don...
via PayPal to paypal.me/wildliferescueofdade
via Venmo to username @WildlifeRescueOfDadeCounty
via CashApp to $wildliferescue
We also accept Amazon gift cards to buy supplies for our patients. Please email to: [email protected]

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To donate to the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment (ZooMiami.org), please go to: https://www.zoomiami.org/baldeaglecam

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