Baby "iggle" hatched!!

[stillers4me]

The first egg hatched in the bald "iggle" nest in the Blackwater refuge. (I had to say it that way so all yinz from the Burgh would know what I was sayin').

Now the fun begins......little fluffly "igglets'......so cute!!! Make sure you click on the slide show.

www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html

[BOXCAR JOEY]

Thats awesome! its good to hear that the species is trying to make something of a comeback

[stillers4me]

The second "igglet" has arrived!!

Keep watching their progress (this is a great site to share with your kids)...you'll be amazed at how fast they grow and soon they will hopping around a nest that's 6 to 7 feet in diameter and making practice flaps with their wings. These beautiful birds are truly "gyant iggles"!!

[floodcitygirl]

I'll check it out with the kiddies. Thanks!

[PhillyBallHawks]

That's sick, man. Are they off of the endangered species list yet?

[stillers4me]

What's sick about it??????????

They have a camera on a natural bald eagles nest in a wildlife refuge. I do believe the bald eagle is either off the endangered list or very close to being taken off. They have come back by leaps and bounds thanks to programs like this. The two eaglets will be tagged in a few weeks and will be tracked. I have watched this and several other nests for 5 or 6 years now. This pair had 3 eaglets last year........it was quite a busy nest and two exhausted parents.

[stillers4me]

Info from the Eagle Cam.....
Threats: Bald eagles have few enemies, but at times humans certainly have been one of them. Like many birds of prey, bald eagles suffered during the 60s and 70s due to the rampant use of DDT and other dangerous pesticides. Research done at Maryland's Patuxent Research Refuge was used in Rachel Carson's classic book "Silent Spring," and alerted citizens, scientists, and politicians to the fact that DDT was harming bird populations. Patuxent scientists discovered that DDT was working its way up the food chain and thinning the eggshells of raptors, which made the eggshells crack when the birds sat on them. Fortunately DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, and thanks to the Endangered Species Act, as well as the hard work of many dedicated people, birds of prey are beginning to rebound.

The bald eagle has now recovered to the point that it has been down-listed from "endangered" to "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. There is currently an effort underway by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the bald eagle from the "threatened" list as well. If that were to happen, bald eagles would still have some protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald Eagle Protection Act, although they would lose habitat protection that is afforded under the ESA.