Lucky’s steel mill eagle parents are empty nesters

The bald eagle faithful who have been watching Claire, Irvin and Lucky over the past month should not worry if they have not spotted the juvenile in the U.S. Steel Mon Valley Irvin Works nest.

He has not been there, plant manager Don German said. “Right now, Lucky has not been back to the nest at all. And that’s not abnormal,” he explained. “Thank goodness we have the four cameras [on the nest]. He’s spending a lot of time on the towers. [He] loves staying up high and looking over the kingdom.”

PixCam 4 offers a sweeping vista of the Monongahela River and across the river to Glassport, and that enables German and his other moderators to keep watch. Lucky and his parents can be observed perching on the huge power towers on the plant and that opposite side of the Mon. German believes Claire and Irvin have made eight food deliveries up to the towers for their offspring.

That said, it can be hard to keep an accurate count and to track every movement because of the massive tree foliage. The eagle family sleep in those trees, German said, as it provides safe haven from predators such as owls that could stalk them.

“We often see Lucky on the tower closest to [the mill’s] south yard on Irvin side, toward Clairton,” the bald eagle enthusiast said. “It’s a short distance from the nest, about a quarter mile.”

What gives German and the faithful anxiety — the Steel City Eagles Facebook page has increased to more than 1,000 followers — are the power lines leading up to those towers. Those are live, he said, which can pose danger. The towers do not.

And they have a favorite spot on them. “They spend a lot of time on the Glassport tower,” German continued. “They can watch the river and catch fish.”

Just like all good parents, Claire and Irvin want to teach Lucky as much as possible. That is why anyone tuning in won’t see them in the nest. “They don’t want to relate food and the nest,” he said.

One time Lucky did come back to the nest, and just like young drivers, he “was hard with the brakes,” German said. “He flew in and rolled out of the nest and kept on going.”

Plus his parents don’t spend a lot of time there, either. First, it’s not mating season. Second, even before that happens, they need to prepare the nest for future eaglets. German said the two will start adding sticks to the nest, covering up the poop and bugs and old feathers there now, this fall. They will add about 400 sticks, he added, and in doing so keep viewers glued to the PixCams.

Tune in to that stream, German said, and on average about 30 people will be watching and participating in the live chats. “Honestly, with my cameras more watch compared to [other nests] that just have one,” he said, noting there were 460 likes on the live feed Monday. “People get bored. Every day we see the eagles. You can tune in, and they will be someplace. My cameras will pick them up. People stay with us longer.

“Normal [nest] cameras will drop off until the fall. The stick wars will begin. That brings back the views.”

He has a windshield wiper on the cameras to clear away rain and snow. And the moderators can zoom around easily to track where the bald eagles are flying, landing, hunting and fishing.

During his talks, German always gets a rise out of the audience with video of Claire and Irvin tussling over sticks and their nest placement. Irvin sometimes just can’t please his mate.

One thing people watching now will notice is how much Lucky has changed, quickly. But it will take years before the juvenile starts to look more like his parents. His feathers are set for now.

Eventually Lucky will start to molt, German explained, and get a mottled effect of white and brown. With the flight feathers, he said bald eagles will lose one-third the first year, another third the second year and the third year the last third. Then they get their adult features. 

The distinctive white head will develop in about the fourth year. Their eyes change, too, from brown eyes to the golden eye. Then the bald eagles start looking for their significant other, their mate.   

From their observations and the cameras placed in the nest, German and his moderators and fans know that Irvin is about 10½ years old. Claire had the defined plumage and golden eye earlier, so she’s an older female.

German said the entire process has been rewarding for him, and he knows it will soon be time for Lucky to head off on his own. “I feel really good [about it],” he said. “It’s always part of the process. I think people know that. It just means that it’s time for next season.”

German said Lucky will be hanging around his parents until September at least, learning to hunt and fish under his parents’ tutelage. That’s common for bald eagles. The Mon River provides a great food source, too, he added, which his parents know.  

Don German will be returning to the Monroeville Public Library on Sept. 14 from 10:30 a.m. until noon to talk about the aerie (eagles’ nest) at the U.S. Steel plant. He’ll discuss the fledglings that have been hatched over the past few years, as well as their parents and the importance of biodiversity. The link to register is here.