Any day now, the trio of eagle chicks born this spring near PPL Corporation’s Holtwood Hydroelectric Dam will "fledge" or take their first flight.
At the end of June, the trio were exploring the electric transmission tower where their nest is located, climbing up the diagonal braces, then gliding back down into the nest, reported PPL consulting naturalist Jim Smith.
"When I observed the nest on June 29, one of the chicks, probably the oldest, made the furthest excursion from the nest yet," Smith said. "It half-hopped, half-flew up one diagonal tower brace, then flew to a horizontal one and then moved across the tower to the opposite side from the nest. It then continued up a diagonal brace to the very top of the tower.
"That means it will fledge soon, probably early in July."
On Wednesday, July 14, there will be an opportunity to see the eagles when Smith conducts the last eagle watch for this year. To join the group, meet at 10 a.m. at the Lock 12 Historic Area in the Holtwood Environmental Preserve, west of the Norman Wood Bridge on Route 372 on the York County side of the Susquehanna River. Dress for the weather, bring binoculars and be prepared to be outside for an hour or more.
A second pair of eagles also established a nest this year in a remote site on the Lancaster County side of the river near PPL’s Holtwood plant, Smith said. Two eagle chicks were raised in that nest, and one now has fledged.
"We believe the parents of these eagle chicks are the offspring of the pair that have been nesting in the York County transmission tower every year since 1998," Smith said.
Eagles often return to the area where they were fledged to establish a nest, he added.
Access to the area of the second nest has been restricted so that the eagles were not disturbed during the critical breeding period from March to July, said Mark Arbogast, PPL’s assistant superintendent-Environmental Preserves.
Including these chicks, Holtwood has contributed 18 new eagles to the lower Susquehanna River Valley since the first nest was established.
"The eagle watches give PPL an opportunity to showcase its environmental stewardship and the Holtwood Environmental Preserve facility for the public," added Arbogast. "It’s also an ideal opportunity to see these beautiful creatures in the wild."
You can keep up with the activities of the eagles online. Go to the PPL Project Earth Web site at www.pplprojectearth.com and click on "Environmental Preserves," then click on "Holtwood." Each week or so, the home page for the Holtwood Environmental Preserve has new photos and progress reports about the eagles.
PPL is hosting the July 14 eagle watch as part of PPL Project Earth, an initiative through which the company educates the public about energy resources and the environment. For more information, visit www.pplprojectearth.com , call 1-800-354-8383 or write to pplpreserves@pplweb.com .
PPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls more than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to nearly 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.