Bald eagle pair welcomes second egg at the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant
The bald eagle pair nesting at the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant in West Mifflin have welcomed a second egg to the nest.
The female, Stella, laid the first egg last Thursday, and then the second egg at 8:41 p.m. Sunday during the high winds and blowing snow.
Incubation takes around 35 days, the experts said.
"I'm like, 'Oh boy, here we go.' And sure enough, she laid her second egg. So, we're all excited here," said Don German, plant manager of the U.S. Steel Mon Valley Works Irvin plant.
While it's the sixth season for dad Irvin at the nest, Stella is in her first. She replaces Claire, who left the nest late last year. Avid eagle cam watchers have not been happy about the change.
The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania says bald eagles can lay anywhere between one to four eggs, but two is the most common number.
"It was raining and sleet and when we had a snowstorm. She was a trooper, though. She's a great mom, and it was kind of unique how she stood up and sort of protected the other egg and so not your typical sort of labor for the eagle," he added.
German said no one has seen the eggs on their live PixCams nest cam yet.
"This year they have a really deep bowl and so, even the first one, we weren't able, we have not seen an egg yet, but we know that there are two in there," he said.
German said U.S. Steel has four cameras in the area, which have captured Irvin being a great dad. He's been seen defending the nest from intruders and making several trips to snag some straw for their home.
"And sure enough, you could see him go down, grab it. And we have actually, I think, four or five deliveries today where he went and got some straw and brought it back to the nest. So, it was pretty exciting to get it on camera, too," German said.
Many people will keep an eagle eye on the growing family on the live nest cam.
"We're excited to be able to provide this for the community for, really, education purposes. What's exciting is for the next 120 days, we'll always have eagles in the nest there," German said.
"Who knows, maybe a third egg is in our midst here," he added.
It's actually quite amazing, according to conservationists, that the eagle population is growing at the steel plant, a testament to cleanup works of years past.
"For our eagles to choose U.S. Steel just goes to show you all the hard work the men and women have done from an environmental standpoint because the Game Commission says you need pristine air and pristine water for eagles to habitat," German said.
If you want to spot the eagles, U.S. Steel says the best place to go is next to the Glassport police station.
