2 Hays Bald Eagle Eggs Hatch In 1 Day For 1st Time In Nesting History
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - It's a waiting game for people online watching the Hays bald eagles nest.
"For the first time in their nesting history, they've actually hatched two eggs in the same day," said Rachel Handel with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Now the public is waiting for the third egg to hatch.
"People do get very attached to the eaglets. They watch as the eggs are laid then there are 35 days until the hatching and that waiting time builds momentum," Handel said.
With a camera up close and personal, you can see each moment. From feedings to hatchings to interactions between mom and dad, more people are tuning in than ever before. In fact, the numbers are up 10 percent from the year before.
"We've had almost 2,000 viewers watching the stream at one time. In the last 28 days, we've had 1.6 million from over 52 countries spending over a quarter million hours watching it and the average person spends 15 minutes a day watching the bald eagles," said Bill Powers, who runs Pix Cams.
A number of those users are from schools. The pandemic pushing teachers to get creative now allows this wildlife moment to be a teaching lesson.
"We want to have this to be an educational outreach more than anything and we have downloadable lesson plans provided by Audubon and we are just seeing an increase in educational value," Powers said.
While the pandemic has been emotionally draining, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania hopes watching eaglets hatch and learning more about what's in our city can serve as some inspiration.
