CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Our nation’s bird could be in danger. Around 100 bald eagles have been documented to have nests in cell phone towers in the Florida peninsula.
One of the nests in northeast Cape Coral captured the attention of a drone hobbyist and researchers. The nest is nestled atop a tower near Andalusia Boulevard and Kismet Parkway, right by the high-power radio equipment that allows you to send texts and make calls.
Not only is this a majestic, patriotic scene, but it also begs the question: are they safe?
This nest in Cape Coral was spotted by Alex Baker.
“A little hobby of mine now that I have,” Baker said. “It’s fun to fly around because you never know what you might find. Things like this for example. By luck, I happen to stumble upon this.”
Research into the impacts of close contact with cell phone towers, if any at all, on wildlife is limited. That’s why Billy Gunnels, a biology professor at Florida Gulf Coast University is and has been looking into the topic for the past decade.
The short answer: there is no answer.
“We don’t actually know,” Gunnels said. “We are actively looking at where the birds are doing this, why they might be doing this, is it having an effect?”
He launched a study back in 2013. For four years, he tracked eagles nesting in cell towers all over Florida. Gunnels revisited the study in 2020 to follow up.
“In 1999, there was one known nest. By 2017, nearly 100,” he said. “When we went back, over 80% of the nests were still being used.”
Nearly 100 documented nesting mates calling their home the tippy top of a T-Mobile or AT&T tower. The stark reality is that they don’t know the potential harm. And despite Gunnels’ research, we don’t either.
“It certainly could be harmful, we honestly just don’t know,” he said. “We are only discovering that the birds will make use of cell phone towers now. And we’re discovering that they’re primarily using cell phone towers in urban areas, cities. That type of structure, a very tall standing structure, by itself, is not present in cities anymore. All the trees were taken down. But the cell phone towers seem to be a viable option for these birds.”
Cell phone towers really only became a commonality in the 1990s. So the time to research and understand any impacts has been limited.
However, looking at the glass half-full, all existing research shows that the type of radio frequency emitted by cell phone towers is not harmful to humans, and assumingly not harmful to animals.
“At this time, there’s no strong evidence that exposure to RF waves from cell phone towers causes any noticeable health effects. However, this does not mean that the RF waves from cell phone towers have been proven to be absolutely safe,” said the American Cancer Society.
To view a full list of known and monitored bald eagle nests, click here.