Pittsburgh's cherished Hays Bald Eagles nest taken down during Tuesday's storms
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Tuesday's storms caused damage across Western Pennsylvania, including in the woods in Pittsburgh's Hays neighborhood, taking down the well-known bald eagle nest. This will mark the fifth time in a decade that bald eagles will have to rebuild their nest on the Hays hillside.
The rain was falling, and the winds were blowing when all of a sudden, there was a collapse. The Hays eagle nest came down. It was captured on the livestream from PixCams and the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Rachel Handel with the society, said thankfully, no eagles were in the nest when it happened.
"The nest had already looked like it was starting to have some issues with stability, but really, that powerful storm is what caused the nest to fall completely," Handel said.
Handel said it was probably the best time for it to occur because they have plenty of time to rebuild before the mating season in the late fall.
"They have months before they begin to need a nest in earnest. Eggs aren't laid until February," Handel said.
It's likely they'll stay in the same area, where they've been breeding since 2013 with 20 eaglets taking flight. Handel said the location works well for them.
"The river is right there, there's abundant fish, and you know, it really is a perfect place to raise young eaglets," Handel said.
The birds experienced a similar situation in 2017. A female was sitting on an egg when a whole tree fell down in a windstorm. It took them about two and a half days to rebuild a nest, and they did so quickly because the female was laying eggs.
"This is something eagles face in the wild all the time. It's not unnatural to them, and you know, their next move is really to just rebuild and move on," Handel said.
Handel urges people to not go near the nesting area to give the eagles space as they rebuild and do what they do as protected and wild animals.
