No webcam planned for new Harmar bald eagle nest

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania announced it will not install a live webcam at the most recent bald eagle nest in Harmar because the aerie cannot be safely accessed.

The decision not to install a webcam was a difficult one, Audubon spokeswoman Rachel Handel said in a statement.

“The birds’ new nest is located in a spot that is extremely steep and dangerous to get to,” Handel said.

The Harmar birds’ original nest in a huge sycamore on a steep hillside overlooking Route 28 apparently fell in late 2018 or early 2019. Audubon and CSE Corp. of Murrysville operated a live webcam in Harmar for several years but not in 2019 after the birds built a new nest on the same hillside.

Audubon wants to entice another bird of prey — a red-tailed hawk or a great horned owl — to nest in the sycamore tree where the eagles lost their nest. There is still the existing webcam positioned in the tree, according to Handel.

Audubon plans to have a tree climber place a platform or a cone in the crook of the old sycamore, hoping another large bird of prey nests there, which could be documented in a live webcam.

“If that’s successful, we will stream those birds as they nest and raise young,” Handel said.

In the meantime, eagle watchers and photographers in the Harmar area will continue to document the nesting activities of the eagles from the ground. To learn more, visit the Facebook page, Harmar Bald Eagles of Pittsburgh and the Audubon’s Facebook page, Bald eagles in Western Pennsylvania.

A webcam is still installed at the Pittsburgh Hay’s nest. Audubon and CSE Corp. have been sponsoring that webcam for a number of years with the approval of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.