They grow up so quickly. It’s been about six weeks since the first of three bald-eagle chicks hatched in Pittsburgh in front of a live audience viewing online. And anyone who more recently has logged onto the Game Commission’s website to access the 24-hour live stream will tell you those three little birds aren’t so little anymore.
Internet celebrities that have accounted for nearly 1.2 million views online, the eaglets still are weeks away from fledging the nest. And until that time, thousands undoubtedly will continue to watch each day.
But online nest-watchers also might be interested to know another opportunity awaits them.
Real-time video from a Northampton County osprey nest is being streamed live on the Game Commission’s website, and the first of three eggs being incubated could hatch any day now.
Click Here to watch live streams of the osprey and bald-eagle nests simultaneously.
Ospreys typically migrate south in winter and return to Pennsylvania in late March and early April to nest. Typically, ospreys will incubate eggs for about 40 days before the eggs hatch. The first of the eggs in the nest being live streamed was laid March 28, while the third was laid April 2.
Ospreys often nest beside bodies of water. They feed primarily on fish and need an abundant supply of it near nest sites.
Pennsylvania’s nesting osprey population has been on the rise in recent years. Still, ospreys remain on Pennsylvania’s list of threatened species, and are protected by both state and federal law.
As recently as 1986, Pennsylvania was home to only one nesting pair of ospreys. Today, there are more than 100.
Meanwhile, the bald eagle was removed earlier this year from Pennsylvania’s threatened species list. While the bald eagle no longer is listed as an endangered or threatened species in Pennsylvania, it continues to be protected by federal law, which among other things establishes a buffer to ensure people stay at least 660 feet from a nest.
Some nesting birds are more tolerant than others when it comes to human activity. But any action that could flush birds from nests is a threat to successful hatching of eggs and fledging of young. Keeping your distance is one way to increase the chances of nest success.
For more information on watching wildlife in person, visit the Game Commission’s Watchable Wildlife webpage.
