Bird watchers eagerly waiting for eggs in U.S. Steel eagle nest to hatch
The eagles at the U.S. Steel nest in West Mifflin are on egg watch — as are the hundreds of people who watch the livestream. Stella and her mate Irvin continue to sit on standby as their eaglets are soon to hatch.
The first of three eggs was laid on Feb. 13, and Rachel Handel with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania says bald eagle eggs typically take 35 days to hatch.
"So these eggs are right on schedule," Handel said.
Experts are on the lookout for the pips — and not the ones Gladys Knight sang with.
"Pip meaning that they are looking for a break from inside of the egg to show on the outside to let people know that that chick is getting ready to hatch," Handel said.
To pip, the eaglet must use its tooth.
"The eaglets have something called an egg tooth and it's a little kind of nub on their beak, and they use it to push through the egg," Handel said.
After that, mom and dad clean out the nest and start feeding the baby birds. The menu around West Mifflin will likely include seafood of sorts.
"Because this nest is on the Mon, it's probably going to be a fish," Handel explained.
After that, Handel says the eaglets are going to get to know the neighborhood, but they won't go very far.
"They will begin a process called branching. Branching is when they start to move outside of the nest and onto branches nearby the nest. Eventually they'll take what's called their first flight," she said.
Irvin and Stella, meanwhile, will take turns feeding and keeping the eaglets warm.
You can join the watch for eaglets on this livestream here.
