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Posted by Joel N Rosenthal on 20:48:25 03/13/15
In Reply to: North Miami Bald Eagles posted by DM
While the drone photo is certainly interesting, I hope that there will not be other drone flybys of this nest site. While you may believe the eagles "weren't there", all that means is they weren't in the nest-they could easily have been out of view high up, or perched in trees in the surrounding neighborhood. Given raptors' extraordinary distance vision, these birds(from a great distance where you might not see them, but they can observe you) could easily interpret this buzzing intruder as a threat or prey item. The internet already has its share of videos of bird/drone collisions-and the birds surely cannot be better off for the experience of being hit by or attacking a multi bladed whirring machine.The presence of drones might well also cause these eagles to abandon this nest site.
Please note the following from the US Fish and Wildlife Service
"The bald eagle will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act even though it has been delisted under the Endangered Species Act. This law, originally passed in 1940, provides for the protection of the bald eagle and the golden eagle (as amended in 1962) by prohibiting the take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, unless allowed by permit(16 U.S.C. 668(a); 50 CFR 22). "Take" includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb (16 U.S.C. 668c; 50 CFR 22.3)" Note the last 3 words- "molest or disturb".I suspect that as drone/bird interactions increase with the popularity of relatively inexpensive drones, the Fish and Wildlife Service will take an expansive view of the definition of the terms "molest" and "disturb".There are civil and criminal penalties for these violations.
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