Bald Eagle Nest Live Cam!
Explore the Hidden World of These Majestic Bald Eagles in South Florida
The Eagle Nest Cam is managed by the Wildlife Rescue of Dade County. If you are experiencing issues with this video, please visit Wildlife Rescue of Dade County - YouTube.
Ron and Rita lived together in the Miami-Dade 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 12-20-22, a new female arrived. She has been named Rose. This Eagle Nest Cam is made possible by a partnership between Wildlife Rescue of Dade County and Zoo Miami Foundation, with the generous support of the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, and your donations to those organizations.
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 Zoo Miami 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 Miami-Dade 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, high-definition cameras were installed by Daniel Montanez, founder of Modern Day Tech Solutions, and sound capability was added for the 2022-23 season.
The Eagles:
Ron and Rita are named after Ron Magill, Communications Director for Zoo Miami, and founder of the Endowment that funds this Eagle Cam, and his lovely wife, Rita.
Rita was banded as a pre-fledge 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 sub-adult 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 03-20-22 and R2 broke free of fishing line 03-26-22. 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: 00/00 and 00/00, Last seen: 00/00 and 00/00.
Time ranges to hatch and fledge, respectively: 35-40 days, 10-14 weeks. Post fledge, they may follow their parents and stay in the area for 4-12 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.
Rita Update:
For those of you who do not remember the story of "Ron & Rita," they are two bald eagles that captured the hearts of South Florida when, with the help of Wildlife Rescue of Dade County (WRDC,) they were able to successfully fledge two chicks as countless people around the world followed them on a nest cam installed by Lloyd Brown of WRDC. Sadly, soon afterwards, Rita suffered a catastrophic injury that required the amputation of her right wing that made it impossible for her to ever be returned to the wild. Though such injuries usually result in euthanasia, WRDC collaborated with the Animal Health team from Zoo Miami, to treat the injury and try to rehabilitate Rita to the point where she could hopefully live as an ambassador for her species under careful human care. For over a year, she was kept at a secret location while dedicated rehabbers from WRDC and the Marathon Wild Bird Center provided her with compassionate care and got her accustomed to human presence. Thanks to all of the work of all of these individuals, Rita has made it through some of the most difficult challenges an eagle could face and was proudly presented in her new habitat built just for her at the Marathon Wild Bird Center in the Florida Keys on this past Valentine's Day! This will be her forever home moving forward where she will hopefully help to inspire many others to care about these majestic raptors. Here are some images I was able to capture of her during her official debut at the center as part of a special Marathon Chamber of Commerce event. Though eagles usually pair for life, when one dies or is lost, the other will often pair with another. "Ron" has done just that and has a new mate named, "Rose,” and they have successfully hatched a single chick that they are presently raising. Kudos to everyone who made it possible to save Rita's life under very difficult circumstances.
Conservation At Work:
Believing that the bonded pair would once again return to the same tree, Ron and the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, teamed up with Lloyd and Wildlife Rescue of Dade County to construct a stable platform in the nest tree close to the original location of the nest that was destroyed. The hope was that the adult birds would return to the tree and utilize the newly constructed platform to rebuild the nest that was destroyed by the storm. Thousands of dollars were also invested to install a high-definition camera system that would allow any activity at the platform to be live-streamed online. This was a huge gamble because there was no guarantee that the adult pair would return to the tree, and if they did, that they would choose to build their nest on the platform. In fact, there was genuine concern that the newly installed platform would frighten them away from the tree completely.
Fortunately, the pair did return, and for several days, looked at the installed platform from adjacent branches but would not fly to it. Then, one day, they flew onto the platform and after inspecting it closely, were observed flying in with large branches as well as other types of vegetation to begin rebuilding their nest!! At first, they would be seen bringing in new materials with no apparent predictability, sometimes not returning to the nest for days at a time. Recently, the time spent at the nest is becoming more regular with both adult birds seen on the nest either by themselves or together, usually in the morning, almost on a daily basis. After constructing a beautiful nest, the eagle pair, named “Rita” and “Ron,” spent much more time at the site, mostly during the day. Then, on Thanksgiving eve, Rita was seen on the nest at night for the first time. It was that evening that she laid her first egg! Three days later, on the following Saturday evening, she laid her second egg! And then, to our surprise, four days after she laid her second egg, she laid a third! Both eagles can now be seen on a regular basis sharing the duties of incubating those eggs 24 hours a day. With an incubation of between 33-36 days, if everything goes well, the first chick is expected to pip right around New Year’s Day!
Important Note:
These are wild eagles that have built a nest in an undisclosed location in the wild. Knowing this, we must understand that nature can often be cruel. We want to warn viewers that we will have no influence on the behaviors of these birds and there are many things that can go wrong. The adults may for unknown reasons, abandon the nest. They may lay eggs that never hatch or get predated on. If eggs do hatch, the hatchlings may not survive. The parents may bring back prey that viewers find disturbing and the feeding of that prey to the eaglets can be quite graphic. The fact is the bald eagles only have an approximately 50% success rate in fledging chicks so there are still many challenges ahead.
How Can You Help?
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It’s critical that these raptors be left alone and for nature to take its course. It’s very important that people do not locate and/or visit the nest. Great expense was taken to ensure you received the best view possible via our live cam in order to allow these incredible raptors the privacy they so need and deserve.
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Engage with us! Follow us on social media to get the most up to date info on our eagle cam. Ask questions and get to know these incredible raptors. We are so excited to share their journey with you!
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To help our continued conservation efforts, please consider donating to one of the partners in this amazing project:
