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Updated 9 hours ago
Pittsburgh's bald eagles apparently have adopted their home city's work ethic.
Only three days after a windstorm toppled their nest tree and the birds lost their first egg of the season, the eagles were building a new nest Wednesday on the same hillside in the Hays neighborhood overlooking the Monongahela River, said amateur wildlife photographer Dana Nesiti of West Homestead.
The Hays couple, the first bald eagles to nest within the city limits of Pittsburgh in more than 150 years, are in their fifth year of nesting there.
If completed, the new nest would be the pair's third nest in five years: They lost their first nest in 2013 after a storm took it out, and they rebuilt about 100 yards away.
The birds are attempting to build a new nest between their two old ones, according to observers.
Since Sunday night, both birds had been flying and dropping sticks near their old nest. They also have been spotted mating.
But the pair stepped things up Wednesday morning, when the male eagle started bringing branches to a prominent sycamore tree on the hillside, according to a longtime watcher of the Hays birds known as Eagle Streamer in local internet chat rooms.
She called Nesiti after the birds brought more than 20 sticks to the tree. Nesiti took photos and videos of the birds Wednesday afternoon carrying branches to the sycamore. The male delivered most of the branches, according to reports.
“At this pace, maybe they can build a decent foundation in a week or so,” Nesiti estimated. “They've been bringing a lot of branches,” he said.
But the birds still have a lot of work to do to construct their aerie — notoriously large nests that can weigh more than 1 ton over the years.
Experts predicted the eagles would rally back with another nest in the same area.
It can take at least two weeks for a pair to build a nest, according to the Eagle Nature Foundation.
Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, expected the birds to build a new nest in the area but didn't know if they have enough time to salvage the nesting season.
It is still early in the season for the birds to renest, said Patricia Barber, endangered species biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, but there are a number of variables affecting success.
For example, no one knows if the female will have enough calcium reserved to produce a viable eggshell later in the season.
Eagles can lay eggs as late as April in Pennsylvania, Barber said.
Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. She can be reached at 724-226-4691 or mthomas@tribweb.com.
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