2-25-2020 Steves News article on nest at end
608 You can see Bella fly up to the attic from the field 1min48sec video He is telling her to get down here
305 Grass brought in and shift change
127 shift change was a much needed one from the sound of it. You can see the fly in from the field and to the attic Patient eagle awaits. Finally drops from the attic 129 and out we go
1117-1121 Changing of the guard and a short visit Grass delivered also nice bedding
953-954 Changing of the Guards
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1117 a load of bedding ...............1120 see ya later dear Love the lookup
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713 Change Bella out Shep in
This is a screenshot of the picture from the article the article I did copy and paste below or if you wanted to click on the link and read it that way it's up to you I know some people are little Larry on clicking on links I love this So happy Steven used the Shep name and not Smitty or Ben as other sites call him He doesn't know what we call him LOL But in honor ot our JO I like it Shep for the city
LINK to article or read below
nest
https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/tri_state/west_virginia/shepherdstown-eagles-are-online-sensation/article_af252b96-46e7-51ed-b92c-5f565af26c98.html
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A live online camera feed allows viewers to watch two bald eagles in a nest at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The pair now has two eggs and the eaglets are expected to hatch around St. Patrick's Day. People from across the nation and other countries have watched the feed.
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Bald eagles Shep and Bella are online stars, but don’t even know it.
A camera is focused on their nest in a sycamore tree on the National Conservation Training Center campus, and the pair is a hit, said Steven Chase, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s facility in Jefferson County.
The online streaming, now in its 14th year, allows people from across the country — and even internationally — to view the pair. It is especially popular in late winter to early spring, when the eagles mate and eaglets are hatched, Chase said.
Fans live blog about the birds’ activities, and right now is an exciting time because there are two eggs — so far, he said.
“People always go crazy over these eagles. We don’t support the anthropomorphizing of bald eagles, so we don’t name them,” he said. “But a lot of people who watch this camera religiously have named the birds, and that’s fine they do that.”
The current feathered residents are not the only pair to have used the nest because about two years ago, the original female got “kicked out,” Chase said.
“We don’t really know what happened to her. Maybe she moved on, or another eagle killed her. The male there now (is) the second or third male. We’re just not sure,” he said.
An eagle’s life isn’t always easy because the birds are driven by a combination of instinct and hormones, Chase said.
Sometimes, eggs don’t hatch, or an eaglet might die, he said.
Several years ago, the original male got killed after an eaglet hatched and another male eagle started hanging around, Chase said.
“The female couldn’t do anything to protect the eaglet, so it basically starved. And once it was dead, the female left, and the new male ate what was left of it,” he said.
“That all happened on the cam, so people were very upset, but our message is that this is wild nature, and we will not intervene.”
The eggs usually take about 35 days to hatch, and that typically happens around St. Patrick’s Day. They stay in the nest several months even after first learning to fly because the adults still are feeding them, Chase said.
The young eagles usually are gone by the end of July each year, he said.
Right now, the eagles can be watched only in real time, but that might soon change. Efforts are underway that would allow viewers to back up the camera footage, Chase said.
The streaming video project is a collaborative effort between the National Conservation Training Center, the Outdoor Channel and Friends of the National Conservation Training Center, he said.
There is more good news because eagle populations in the region are growing, Chase said.
“This nest has been extremely productive, and part of that is because the bald eagle has recovered very well in the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” he said. “The fact that we have new birds coming in and beating up the old birds is a reflection of how healthy the population is, and how they are fighting over nesting habitat.”
There also have been reports of a new nest downriver toward Shepherdstown, Chase said.
“I haven’t seen that yet, but if that’s true, there are a series of nests that go all the way down to Brunswick and maybe even further,” he said.
