Today while I was driving in downtown Naples a bald eagle flew over the busy street and landed in a tree. After four years in Florida, I’m still always surprised to see these gigantic birds — maybe because where I grew up in New York they were much more rare.

Florida has more bald eagles that live here year round than any other state in the country save Alaska. Experts estimate that there are more than 2,000 nesting pairs, so 4,000 in total. Threatened in the 20th century by the use of DDT pesticides, the entire United States population was lower than 4,000 in the 1970s.

Eagles are back.

Want to see where eagles might be nesting in your area? Chances are, there’s a nest not too far from your home (or hotel if you’re a visitor to Southwest Florida). Here’s a link to an Eagle Nest Locator on the Florida Fish and Wildlife  Conservation Commission website.

All over Florida, volunteers with a group called Project Eaglewatch watch more than 200 nests and keep track of nesting pairs. I visited a nest at a Boy Scout Camp off U.S. 41 N in Naples near Wiggins Pass Road last fall with a volunteer for the project. Here’s more information about it.