[masraum]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

This nest is in the San Bernardino National Forest land. It has been in active use since the fall of 2013. The surrounding area is closed to the public during nesting season to protect the eagles—bald eagles have been known to abandon nests when disturbed by humans..

That has not been my experience in what now amounts to over 40 years of living around these birds since their fantastic recovery. "Our" eagles, for example, live within a couple hundred yards of a big shopping mall, and even closer to a major freeway interchange (I-5 and I-405). Three of the four nests I monitor are right smack in the middle of active, busy farms growing corn and grazing cattle, with human activity right below the nests every day. Two are literally right off the shoulders of moderately busy rural farm roads, close enough that one might get a little "present" as one rides by. These birds clearly have no trouble whatsoever with human activity.

Maybe they are just trying to keep people away, or maybe some eagles will abandon a nest. Maybe your eagles are used to people and proximity because that's their normal environment. But maybe if you had an eagle that wasn't used to people and you suddenly had groups of folks very near it would be an issue.

It's certainly not an issue for these folks.