Wings extended to their full span, the bald eagle swept toward its nest. A fuzzy gray head popped up above the rim. It was lunch time. The eagle settled into its home of sticks and grass, tore at some sort of prey with its yellow beak — oblivious to the cars and trucks rushing by on Pines Boulevard — and began gently feeding bits of food to its chicks. The celebrated bald eagles of Pembroke Pines, the first nesting pair in Broward County since the 1970s, have returned, and in the past four weeks they have produced three eaglets.

A committee of conservationists and government officials is working to make sure the eagles are protected. "We're just absolutely excited the eagles have come back to our city," Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis said Friday, standing in the traffic island of Pines Boulevard as the eagle fed its young. "It puts us on the map. It's a great, great story for our city."

Located about 200 feet south of Pines Boulevard just east of U.S. 27, the nest looks down on the barrel-tile roofs of a housing development across the street. The 24 acres around the nest are owned by the city, and Ortis would not rule out eventually selling the land for development. But he said the city would make sure sufficient undeveloped land remained for the eagles to keep their nest. A draft amendment to the Pembroke Pines comprehensive plan would require the city to "protect and preserve bald eagle nesting sites" and to adopt an eagle sanctuary protection ordinance.

Conservationists said they are satisfied with the city's response. "The city has been totally cooperative with us," said Doug Young, president of South Florida Audubon Society and chairman of the Eagle Sanctuary Steering Committee. But Young and other conservationists are concerned about public safety, because a lot of people are stopping their cars and wandering into the road to watch the eagles. Continue reading the article at the Sun Sentinel.