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Irvin and Stella with one of their three eaglets in a nest at the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Courtesy of PixCams via TNS<\/p>\n
PITTSBURGH \u2014 Pittsburgh has never seen two nests with a total of five eaglets live-streamed at the same time.<\/p>\n
After recovering from endangered status, bald eagles now have nests throughout the region. The first live webcam, installed for the 2014 breeding season for a pair of eagles nesting in Hays, now has expanded to two sites with multiple cameras.<\/p>\n
Eagle watchers can check out the action this season from the comfort of their homes or on cellphones. Expect spirited eaglet and parent activity with the live cameras capturing the family life of the large charismatic raptors.<\/p>\n
The nest at the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, with parents Irvin and Stella, has produced three chicks within the past 2 weeks \u2013 a first for the aerie on the steelmaker\u2019s wooded property. The birds built the nest seven years ago.<\/p>\n
And in Glen Hazel, the new nest site for the Hays bald eagles has seen two eaglets hatched in the past several days.<\/p>\n
Bald eagles are known to have nested within the city limits only since 2013, the first year of the Hays nest. The original female, known as Mom, has produced 24 eaglets, including this year\u2019s two hatchlings.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists believe that before the Hays birds, bald eagles hadn\u2019t nested in the city for at least 150 years because of industrial development and pollution.<\/p>\n
In December 2013, PixCams of Murrysville installed the state\u2019s first bald eagle nest webcam with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.<\/p>\n
Currently, the company streams webcams at U.S. Steel, Glen Hazel, and 60 other sites, including two other bald eagle nests in Ohio and New York.<\/p>\n
During the Hays couple\u2019s breeding season in 2014, they raised three chicks \u2013 the only time previously that a nest with three young was documented with a live webcam in the region.<\/p>\n
Three chicks are at the high end of typical bald eagle nests in Pennsylvania, according to the game commission.<\/p>\n
Now, eagle nests are found along most, if not all, major waterways in the region, according to reports from biologists and bird-watching photographers.<\/p>\n
The game commission, which brought in eaglets from Canada to bolster the dwindling population decades back, forecasted a burgeoning eagle population for the Pittsburgh area after the Hays eagles first nested 14 years ago. Their last nest in Hays collapsed and was abandoned in 2024, and the female bird and a new mate moved to a sycamore tree in Glen Hazel, on the opposite side of the Monongahela River.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s eagle breeding season rivals 2014 in public interest and viewership, with unique viewers totaling about 10,000 a day for the Glen Hazel and U.S. Steel sites, said Bill Powers, owner of PixCams.<\/p>\n
When there are multiple chicks, more people watch, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t had the Hays mom to watch for two years, and the three chicks at U.S. Steel really add to the high viewership numbers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There have been less active years in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince people have been following us since 2014, they have seen the ups and downs. This year, we have two nests that are successful, and people don\u2019t take that for granted anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hays mom, in her 14th breeding season, labored hard for her first egg this year. It was was never fully seen on camera, but she came back with two eggs, which some experts thought might not be viable, Powers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a spectacular year for her, and we don\u2019t know how long she will be around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom is also popular and known for her bossy and demanding personality with her mate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she wants to be fed, she screams. When she comes in to incubate the eggs, she pushes the male off,\u201d Powers said.<\/p>\n
U.S. Steel has been increasing the number of cameras on its nest, with four trained on different angles, including a new overhead camera this year for closeups of hatching birds.<\/p>\n
Even the tiny beaks of emerging eaglets were visible at U.S. Steel and Glen Hazel.<\/p>\n
With the webcams at both nests, the eaglets could be heard \u201cpeeping\u201d right before they emerged from their eggs \u2013 a long and arduous process. A chick, with what is called its egg tooth, slowly chisels itself out of its shell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe overhead nest view is amazing this year,\u201d said Don German, an eagle educator and recently retired manager at the Irvin plant.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone appreciates the view, and it has allowed us to experience entire egg hatches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Viewers can expect some sibling rivalry during feeding, especially when the nest pantry is lean. The chicks will bonk one another on the head to better position themselves for a small bit of fish or meat from their parents.<\/p>\n
After getting their fill, the chicks will often lie down in a fluffy pile of feathers in a food coma.<\/p>\n