March 8, 2009 - Lofty Nests

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

There was a time when we could only dream of bald eagles nesting in Pennsylvania. But due to the efforts of wildlife biologists, bald eagles have made a tremendous comeback in our state. So much so that last year 10 known pairs nested along the upper Susquehanna with over 150 pairs nesting in the state. This time of year eagles begin nesting along Pennsylvania rivers. Nests are massive structures, looking somewhat like an upturned VW Bug stuck in a tree but made of sticks, rubbish and cornstalks. Bald eagles typically repair or rebuild their nest each year for many nesting seasons. Nests can grow so large that they collapse under their own weight or break the tree in which they are built. When that happens, the eagle pair chooses another site and begins construction from the tree up.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.