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A male eagle circles over where a wind storm blew over its nest and tree in the Hays section of Pittsburgh Monday.
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Starting over: After losing their nest, the Hays bald eagles rebuild

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Starting over: After losing their nest, the Hays bald eagles rebuild

The windstorm that ripped through the area on Sunday damaged more than one kind of home. As people in the region assessed damage and filed insurance claims, the bald eagles of Hays engaged in nature’s form of restoration.

Instead of dwelling on the loss of the nest and egg after their hackberry tree was downed, the eagles have begun following their instinct and rebuilding their nest in another location.

Bird watchers have already spotted the eagles gathering twigs and other material suitable for nesting, which is a sign that the trauma of losing the egg is more a human preoccupation than anything the eagles are experiencing.

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Like us, the eagles are invested in the future. They may have lost their home of five years, but they understand on an instinctual level that their purpose, as long as they’re alive, is to reproduce. That means a new nest takes priority over mourning or depression.

The Hays eagles have fledged another eaglet, the first flight of the year for the nest's sole eaglet. Pictured here is one of the adults returning to the next in April.
John Hayes
After working up the courage, Hays bald eagle fledgling takes first flight

The remote camera that has observed them for half a decade will be repositioned, but for now, we’ll have to settle for the eagles of Harmar. The Hays bald eagles will be out of the picture until next season, probably.

Meanwhile, let humans dwell on the loss of the tree and nest. Eagles know what they have to do; eagles have to fly.

First Published: February 18, 2017, 5:00 a.m.

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A male eagle circles over where a wind storm blew over its nest and tree in the Hays section of Pittsburgh Monday.  (Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
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