Florida eagles aren't shy....

...AT ALL! I mean, for heaven's sake, this nest is smack dab in the middle of a condo complex right above a walking trail and just outside someone's bedroom window!

Can you imagine waking up to this sight every morning?

...or telling your guests, "Yes, that is an American Bald Eagle looking in at you."

I don't think I could ever tire of seeing this gorgeous bird.

...and to make things even better, imagine two eaglets growing up in this nest. Yes, indeed, eggs were laid, hatched, and babies raised while lawn mowers and leaf blowers roared underneath, and how would I know? Because I spent all last week in beautiful, beautiful, sunny, sunny Florida with Rick and Matty. Ack.....what a place. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Florida and all the wonderful birds.

Mama and one of the juveniles. The other juvenile was hunkered down in the nest.

This gives you an idea of the size of the nest. It was quite a surprise to

look up and see it overhead in a tree just off the walking trail.

Because of all the development in Florida, American Bald Eagles have been squeezed out of their prime nesting habitats and have learned to tolerate the noisy humans that live underfoot. Choosing to ignore the cars, noise and manicured lawns that require endless cutting, spraying, and watering, these birds brave the suburban areas because they have to.

The Sarasota Birding Guide

We stayed on Longboat Key just off Sarasota. Rick and Matty were there for tennis, but I was there for the birds, so in preparation, I googled, "Birding in Sarasota," and found Rick Greenspun, the Sarasota Birding Guide. Rick offers personalized birding and photography tours, so I immediately emailed him and booked a day of birding. Wow!! I'm so glad I found Rick and went out birding with him. Monday morning at 7:30 sharp Rick was at our condo and picked me up for 8 hours of non-stop birding. He even had water and snacks so we didn't have to stop for lunch. I saw and learned so much!!! I am really weak with shorebirds. All those sandpipers and terns...they all look the same. Well...not any more! Rick taught me how to spot and identify all those long-billed, long-legged, and short-billed, short-legged birds splashing around in the surf as they plucked and dug out tasty bits to eat. I saw so many cool birds, most were still in their winter plumage, but many were molting, and many were in full breeding plumage. I have tons of photos for the next week or so.........including photos of the juvenile American Bald Eagles testing out their wings as they were getting ready to fledge.

If you're headed to the Sarasota area, look up Rick, and be sure to book two days instead of one. You really need two days to make it to all the varied habitat. Rick, Matty and I loved Longboat Key so much we are going back next spring, so I'll get the second half of the trip then. Click here to visit Rick's website. "Bird Doggie" is also a fabulous photographer and has beautiful photos of birds on his site as well as info on his birding tours.

Rick...I went black and white with this shot. Hope you like it!