Say hello to one of the newest residents of the city of Pittsburgh. A new bald eagle hatchling has safely emerged from its egg in a Pittsburgh nest.
Pittsburgh residents have been closely monitoring a bald eagle nest in the Hays neighborhood near the Monongahela River. The nest contained a total of three eggs and the first eggs hatched at around 2:30 p.m. (EST) this March 28.
"Today the first eaglet hatched at around 2:30 PM Eastern," says Pixcontroller. Eagles, We expect the 2nd eaglet to hatch in about three days.
The event was captured on video by a webcam positioned near the nest by the remote outdoor surveillance company Pixcontroller. The webcam is also monitored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to keep an eye on the bald eagles. The bald eagle pair built their nest a mere five miles away from downtown Pittsburgh.
There are still two eggs in the nest and the female eagle will continue to incubate the remaining eggs for the next few days. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has confirmed that the mother eagle is around five and a half years old.
Eagle experts say that the first born hatchling has the highest chance of survival. Many eaglets perish during the first year alone and current mortality rates are around 50 percent.
The bald eagle us both the national animal and the national bird of the U.S. and is considered as one of the most iconic symbols of the country. In the late 20th century, bald eagle populations were reduced almost to the point of extinction due to hunting and destruction of habitat.
Conservation efforts to save the bald eagle have been fruitful and the species was removed from the government's list of endangered animals in 1995. In 2007, it was also removed from the Lower 48 states' List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Today, over half of the states including in the Lower 48 states have over 100 pairs of bald eagles with the potential to breed.
Bald eagles used to be a common sight in vicinity of Pittsburg a few hundred years ago. However, heavy industrialization in the area around the Monongahela River caused a drastic decrease in the number of fishes in the river. Since the bald eagles depending on the fishes for food, the eagles started nesting in other locations. Following a 30 year rehabilitation of the Monongahela river, fish populations started to recover and the bald eagles started coming back.
