Harmar bald eagles unflappable as 2 take their first flights

The Harmar bald eagles, now in their ninth year of breeding on the same hillside above Route 28, raised a family of two eaglets that took to the skies this week.

“The first flight of one of the juveniles on Wednesday was smooth but when it came to land, she missed one possible landing spot then and tumbled a little into a tree, but she got back up and perched on a limb,” said Gina G. Gilmore of Fox Chapel, who has been photographing the Harmar eagles almost daily when the birds are breeding.

The second juvenile eagle took its first flight Thursday morning. The first bird, which fledged the day before, flew from the Allegheny River, then above Route 28 to the nest area, where its sibling took its first flight, she said.

“With the high heat Wednesday and Thursday, both birds had minimal flying and returned to the nest,” said Gilmore, who could see the birds panting.

This Harmar family seems to be unflappable when it comes to being affected by events around them.

They have successfully raised 15 eaglets since they first started nesting on the same hillside in 2014.

The train derailment in Harmar last month over Guys Run near its confluence with the Allegheny River didn’t affect the parent birds, who continued to find food daily for their young, Gilmore said.

The Harmar eagles were monitored six years ago during the implosion of the Hulton Bridge, which again was near its nest and hunting grounds.

PennDOT and volunteers from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania checked on the birds’ whereabouts before igniting the explosives for the bridge.

Harmar continues to be a good location for the eagles even though it is near all of the Route 28 traffic.

“The proximity to fish in the river makes the hillside above Route 28 a very good choice as a nesting location,” said Rachel Handel, Audubon Society spokeswoman. “The birds can easily fly upriver or downriver for food — more of which is needed as the eaglets grow in size,” she said.

The Pittsburgh Hays eagles also fledged in the past week, with the final one leaving the nest Wednesday. The two young eagles in the U.S. Steel Irving nest are waiting in the wings, as they are expected to fledge soon.