County removes eagles' nest from Ed Smith Stadium

Two bald eagles circled Ed Smith Stadium Friday, as a Sarasota County contractor destroyed the pair’s nest.

“This was done for the safety of the birds,” said county spokesman Jason Bartolone. The county obtained state and federal permits to remove the nest from atop the lights at the southeast corner of the stadium, and disassemble the web of sticks according to the agencies’ guidelines.

The lighting system underwent a $1.2 million overhaul earlier this year, which included specifications to prevent nest building — but the eagles were undeterred.

The pair usually nests on a cell tower one block north of the athletic complex, said Sarasota Audubon President Jeanne Dubi. The birds began building a nest within the stadium this fall, and at least one eagle had been sighted near the stadium in September.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) spokesman Gary Morse said a nest was observed on the cell tower this year, but mysteriously disappeared. The organization has opened an investigation to determine if ii was illegally removed.

Sarasota County Sports Development and Athletics Manager Pat Calhoon said the new nest was discovered last week, and staff deployed a drone Saturday to assure it didn’t contain any eggs. The county will spend less than $5,000 for the removal, and for the contractor to “nest-proof” the other lights with neon netting.

In 2010, the eagles’ previous nest built atop the right field ballpark lights was removed by wildlife officials and destroyed to make way for a $31 million stadium renovation. Two eagle eggs were transported to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., to be included in the theme park’s Eagle Mountain Sanctuary.

“We had arranged the same thing with Busch Gardens this time,” Bartolone said.

Wildlife officials said it was unlikely the pair would have successfully raised chicks at the site.

“This was a very dangerous situation,” Morse said. “The chances of (the pair) getting hung up and electrocuted or being burned by the lights was very high.”