A pair of bald eagles are nesting just off a busy roadway in East Dallas and perhaps to their detriment, they're attracting a crowd.
"I was just driving by and saw all these people looking up, so I pulled over," Miles Minnis, who was among about two dozen people who stopped on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to view the birds said.
"Normally I see them over at Sunset Bay (on nearby White Rock Lake) usually during the golden hours, either sunrise or sunset. But it's pretty cool to see them here."
Dallas Parks and Recreation Department urban biologist Brett Johnson said the birds showed up in mid-October.
"We've been monitoring them since then, and yes, we have two bald eagles nesting there between Buckner Blvd and the rugby fields," Johnson said. "It is a unique opportunity for people to see the eagles, but we just want to make sure no one harasses or bothers them."
"Just so people know, we are going to be putting up a fence in the area to protect them. You really should stay about 330 feet away from the eagles and I'm trying to tell people that there are two parking lots near the eagles and that is about how far you should stay back."
Johnson added that eagles are federally protected, so if you purposely or accidentally bother the birds you are "technically violating federal law."
The eagles have a large nest high atop one of the tall trees and according to Johnson; "if they haven't laid an egg yet, they should be close." Eggs normally will hatch around March 1.
"We don't want the public bothering the eagles because we don't want them to abandon the nest or the eggs," said Johnson.
The birds are large, between 15" and 18" tall with a wingspan that can approach six feet.
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