Bald eagles returning to Florida early this year

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says bald eagles are returning to Florida a little early this year. The FWC has received reports of bald eagles returning to nesting territories throughout Florida in the past few weeks. The official start of the nesting season is October 1st. In Florida, bald eagles usually begin gathering materials for nests in late September or early October. They begin laying eggs as early as October and as late as April. Bald Eagles are considered a Florida success story. There were 88 active nests in 1973 and more than 1,100 in 2007. There were at least 41 active nests in Franklin County in 2007, and possibly as many as 50. There were 11 known nests in Gulf County and 18 more in Wakulla County. The FWC removed the bald eagle from the state's threatened species list in 2008.