Hays bald eaglets testing wings
PITTSBURGH — The three young bald eagles under the watchful eye of many in Western Pennsylvania have begun to leave their nest.
Two of the eagles were seen outside the nest Thursday afternoon, said Jack Lucas, the land management supervisor with the state Game Commission.
All three of the eagles were still in the nest Wednesday.
Thousands of viewers have watched the live-stream camera footage of the nest since the eagles’s mother first laid the eggs in February. The camera is provided by Murrysville-based PixController, which is working with the Game Commission.
While the birds are beginning to venture outside the nest, Lucas said they won’t be going very far at first.
One of the eagles was perched several feet above the nest on another branch in the tree, while its sibling had made its way over to a neighboring tree.
The third eagle was still at the edge of the nest, as of Thursday afternoon.
Each of the three young eagles will stay around the nest until at least September to practice their flying and hunting skills. But the birds could fly anywhere once fully matured.
“It’s really hard to say,” Lucas said of their ultimate destination. “I’ve seen them fly as far as South America.”
Bob Mulvihill, an ornithologist with the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, said fledglings will sometimes return to their nest during their first couple months of flying.
While the three fledglings will almost certainly move away from the area by fall, the parents will probably stay and may try to produce more offspring next year, according to the Game Commission.
The three eagles began hatching in the nest in late March. The last of the eaglets hatched April 2.
Mulvihill at the time was uncertain whether the third eaglet would live, as it had to battle its two older siblings for food.
However, the ample food supply near the nest allowed for each of the eagles to be sufficiently fed.
This group of nestlings marked the second year the parents successfully bred. Last year the nest produced one fledgling.
Bald eagle pairs are active on two additional sites in Allegheny County. More than 200 nests have been reported in Pennsylvania.
