- October 19, 2022
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Some Longboat Key residents know the tree. The tall slash pine that sticks out above Buttonwood Drive.
In the middle of the tree’s canopy: A bald eagle nest that has been there for over 20 years according to neighbor anecdotes.
Buttonwood Drive resident Sherry Nikolich said she likely has more pictures on her phone of the bald eagles in her backyard than she does of her kids.
That’s how much the family of bald eagles has meant to her since she moved into her home on Buttonwood Drive. When she first purchased the home in 2017 before moving to the island full-time in 2020, she was notified an eagle nest was in a tree in her backyard.
She was thrilled.
Over the years, she built a connection with the eagles. She watched them add to their nest every year and raise their young.
“That’s family out there. Those are my birds,” Nikolich said. “I take people for tours in my backyard.”
Like most of her neighbors on Buttonwood Drive, Nikolich is recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. While repairing her home from flood damage, she found out that her neighbor was granted a permit to take down the tree that houses the bald eagle nest because of the hurricanes.
The tree that holds the nest is rooted in Nikolich’s backyard, but the main branch leans over her neighbor's property on Triton Bend, which is behind Nikolich's property.
According to Nikolich, her neighbor, Mark Saine, applied for a permit to remove the main branch because he was worried the branch could fall and damage his house.
Saine's name is listed on the permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that allows him to remove the tree and disturb the eagle nest under certain conditions.
Saine declined to comment for this story.
Nikolich said the tree has always leaned over Saine’s property in this way.
That may be the case, but local arborist Jacob Gilliam with Jacob Gilliam Tree Care said this tree now poses a high risk of falling on Saine’s property and causing damage.
Gilliam is a certified arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture. He’s also qualified to perform tree risk assessments through the American National Standards Institute.
The risk assessment was conducted on Oct. 29 for the tree with Longboat’s eagles, and consists of three main questions: How likely is the tree to fall? How likely is it to hit a target if it falls? And how much damage will it cause?
Given how much the tree leans and how much protection it lost from the recent hurricanes, Gilliam concluded the tree should be removed.
“I think any arborist will argue it will cause significant damage. It’s a large tree," Gilliam said.
While he recommends the tree be cut in this situation, that isn’t always the case. Gilliam wants people to know that arborists often are in the business of helping people preserve trees and thinking about best landscaping practices.
“I don’t want anyone to make me out as a tree killer,” Gilliam said. “Half of the business is preservation.”
After the recent hurricanes, some trees and other vegetation that surrounded the nest tree were impacted. For example, one tree that stood in front of the tree was bent almost at a 90-degree angle.
These surrounding trees acted as a natural barrier and strengthened the slash pine. Now, without the supporting vegetation, Gilliam said the large nest tree is more susceptible to falling from wind.
Gilliam said the situation isn’t ideal with the tree holding an eagle nest, but he strongly believes the tree now poses a risk of damaging property without having those supporting structures.
“I agree that it is an unfortunate scenario. I would like that tree to be standing straight up and down,” he said.
Sometimes, arborists can use supplemental support to keep a tree from leaning too far and damaging property. Most of the time, though, it’s a losing battle. Gilliam said there’s a contradiction in using supplemental support — spending time and money to keep a tree upright while admitting that the tree can’t hold its weight and would eventually need to be removed.
A job like this one for the Buttonwood tree will take Gilliam a few hours to remove the tree. The permit he holds is to cut the tree down to the fence line.
According to the USFWS, bald eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These acts regulate how people can interact with these species.
This includes a bald eagle “take,” which is defined as means to pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, destroy, molest or disturb a bald eagle, according to Ulgonda Kirkpatrick with the USFWS Migratory Bird & Eagle Permit Office.
The same protections are given to bald eagle nests, and the homeowner whose property is in danger acquired the proper bald eagle nest take permit through the USFWS.
“Eagle nests are protected from take under the Eagle Act, so anytime an eagle has built, maintained or used a nest, it is considered an eagle nest and can only be lawfully removed with a permit,” Kirkpatrick said in an email to the Observer.
According to Kirkpatrick, there are many different reasons a person could apply for an eagle nest take, or removal. This includes “human health and safety removal,” which is the reasoning behind Saine’s permit.
To receive a permit for this reason, the applicant would need to answer application questions, certify there is a justifiable reason for take that is unavoidable and include an arborist’s report.
While it may sometimes be possible to move an eagle’s nest to a different location, that is not best practice by USFWS standards.
“Generally, it is not the preferred option. Bald eagles will often rebuild their nest in their preferred location. Unless nesting options are severely limited or it is a unique situation (pulling an active nest off of an unsafe structure), we would want the birds to rebuild their nest where they prefer to do so,” Kirkpatrick said in an email.
After a nest is removed, the permit applicant would need to ensure it is properly destroyed. This can be done by burying, burdening or mulching the nest. No part of the nest can lawfully be kept, according to Kirkpatrick.
Bald eagle breeding season is between Oct. 1 to May 30. According to The Raptor Rescue Project, males may court mates by bringing food gifts and vocalizing together. Bald eagles then prepare nests together and perch together.
Nikolich said recently the eagles have been noisy and she has seen them bringing materials to the nest. She believes they are in the mating routine.
Typically, the bald eagle egg-laying period ensues around December and January. It’s because of this that Gilliam said USFWS advised them to remove the nest sooner rather than later. If an eagle lays an egg in the nest, or if there are juvenile eagles in the nest, the nest cannot be disturbed.
Despite the likely removal of the nest, Kirkpatrick said the eagles may choose to stay close by.
“Eagles are quite territorial and will generally remain within their territory (1.5-2 mile radius) whenever a nest is lost,” Kirkpatrick said in the email. “Biologically, it would be best to take the nest as quickly as possible.”
Nikolich said she tried to appeal to her neighbor to allow the eagles one more mating season before removing the tree and trying supplemental support in the interim.
On Monday, local arborist Jacob Gilliam with Jacob Gilliam Tree Care arrived at Nikolich's property, ready to remove the tree. A proper permit to disturb the nest was already granted by the USFWS and his assessment determined the tree is at high risk of damaging property.
Nikolich was angry, as were other neighbors who stuck by her side until the Longboat Key Police Department showed up. The police department asked the tree service to shut down operations for the day.
She also posted on social media to spread the word to other residents, she received many comments on Facebook. Many full-time and part-time residents voiced their love for the eagles and a desire to protect them.
"I want people to know that, when they come back and they don't see that tree, it's not my fault. I didn't take that tree down," Nikolich said.
