Naturalists at PPL Holtwood Preserve in south central Pennsylvania have spotted a bald eagle chick in a nest perched on a transmission tower near the Holtwood Dam.

"This is the third year in a row that baby eagles have hatched on Holtwood property," said Anne Bleistine, naturalist at Holtwood Preserve, one of four areas PPL sets aside for nature study and recreation in Pennsylvania. "The adults have been incubating for about a month."

The baby eagle was spotted Friday (4/6), after its mother carefully walked around the nest to switch positions. When she reached the other side of the nest, a tiny gray head and a raised wing tip were spotted.

Based on the mother eagle’s behavior, Holtwood naturalists suspect there may be a second eaglet in the nest.

"When I got down to the road at about 4:45 p.m. on Friday, the male was on the nest with the female, and things looked a little crowded in there," said Jim Smith, a Holtwood naturalist who has been keeping a log of activity in the eagle nest. "Both appeared to be caring for their offspring in the center."

PPL Holtwood Preserve will host an eagle watch from 10 a.m. to noon on April 18. Participants should meet at the Lock 12 parking lot off Route 372 near the Norman Wood Bridge in York County, Pa. For more information, call 717-284-6274.

It takes about a month for a baby eagle to develop most of its feathers and two months before it takes its first flight. The adult eagles will return next winter to the same nest.

As part of its environmental stewardship, PPL has cooperated with the Pennsylvania Game Commission in its efforts to restore eagle and osprey populations.

Named America's national bird in 1782, the bald eagle was threatened with extinction by hunting, loss of habitat and use of the pesticide DDT. In 1963, only 417 breeding pairs remained in the lower 48 states. Today that number has climbed to more than 5,800, including the couple at Holtwood.

In 1999, the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list because of the increase in its numbers.