Pittsburgh finally has a new bald eagle chick to watch
The Pittsburgh area welcomed its first bald eagle chick Sunday morning at a nest located on U.S. Steel Irvin plant property in West Mifflin.
The region has been without a cute fuzzy eaglet to watch since the Pittsburgh Hays bald eagle couple had a bad season with a non-viable egg.
Both eagle nests are viewable to the public via PixCams and YouTube.
The first of two eggs at the Irvin plant hatched Sunday in a heavily wooded hillside about 200 yards away from the plant along the Monongahela River.
The parents, affectionately known as Irvin and Claire, are named after the steelmaker’s Irvin and Clairton plants.
The birds have raised six eaglets since they began nesting at the site five years ago.
“To have an iconic company like U.S. Steel and the iconic American bird on our property is an honor and a privilege,” said Don German, the Irvin plant manager.
A second egg in the nest is expected to hatch Monday or Tuesday.
On Sunday, the eagle parents were busy with their first hatchling, keeping it warm and protected around the clock.
“Irvin brought a trout to the nest this morning and neither one ate it,” Mr. German said. “The fish is sitting there for when mom and the little one are ready to eat.”
Mr. German has presented more than 50 “Eagle Talks” since November to schools, libraries, senior living homes and other venues.
“When the eaglets hatch they are 3 to 4 ounces, which equates to 20 nickels — that’s a fun fact popular with the kids,” he said.
Bald eaglets are the fastestgrowing bird in America, with chicks putting on 12 pounds in their first three months, according to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.
“For the next 90 days, there will always be an eagle in the nest feeding the juvenile or protecting it — it’s a lot of fun to watch,” Mr. German said.
The steelmaker set up a live webcam with PixCams of Murrysville three years ago.
They added a fourth camera this year for viewing the Monongahela downstream from the nest and featuring other wildlife such as the great blue heron and nesting Canada geese.
Mr. German and moderators with PixCams volunteer to answer viewers’ questions via a virtual chat room accessible through the Irvin plant’s webcam number one.
The live feed from the eagle nest displays on monitors at U.S. Steel headquarters and its plants across the country, Mr. German said.