First eaglet hatches at local campground
The bald eagle family at Lake Hemet has welcomed its first baby of 2022.
Biologists examined the eaglet in early May, about a month after he hatched at the Lake Hemet Campground in the San Jacinto Mountains. The baby boy will be tracked for the rest of his life — about 20 years, officials said.
Friends of the Desert Mountains and the San Bernardino National Forest — with grant funding from Edison International, are working with Bloom Biological Inc. to track the young eagles.
Tracking the hatchlings is crucial so scientists can monitor the endangered birds, Friends’ Director of Education and Land Programs Jennifer Prado said in a blog post.
Currently, there are two adult bald eagles and three juvenile birds: the new baby boy and two that have been tracked since 2020 and 2021, respectively, in the Lake Hemet area, Kim Boss, district wildlife biologist for the San Bernardino National Forest, said in an email.
To keep bald eagles safe, Boss reminded the public to take care of the environment by picking up trash and fishing debris.
Last year, we “discovered that one of the chicks had a fishing hook embedded in his wing,” said Boss, who added that it was removed.
Lake Hemet, located in Mountain Center, is owned and operated by the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District.
The Riverside County birds aren’t the only bald eagles in the Inland Empire. Bald eagles are popular at Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County and can be seen on a live web camera.