In 2014, Pittsburgh’s resident bald eagles were a global hit with 3.5 million page views on their Internet wildlife camera. They’ll get a greater spotlight starting next month.
Bill Powers of the PixController security camera company said Thursday he would set up two video cameras in mid-December at the Hays nest site and had entered a new partnership with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania to expand the project’s educational outreach.
Audubon closed Thursday on a $25,000 deal to purchase the rugged real estate surrounding another Allegheny County eagle nest on a cliff above the Hulton Bridge on the Allegheny River in Harmar. Plans to install a wildlife camera there have stalled.
“There will be a lot of changes,” said Mr. Powers, president of the Murrysville company that provided the high-tech camera equipment and managed the project. “To do it again [in 2015], the Game Commission now requires us to have a new educational protocol … and be integrated into the school system, to bring the educational experience to the schools. The Audubon Society is taking over the educational part.”
Mr. Powers said the Game Commission approved the educational use permit on Wednesday.
Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, said Thursday he was still, “trying to work through some of the logistics” related to the partnership and purchase of the 2.36-acre parcel in Harmar.
“There just wasn’t time to do what it takes to get [a camera] in there,” said Mr. Bonner. “Not to make a joke, but we’re sort of going out on a limb on this. We didn’t want to lose the opportunity to buy that land ... so we’re doing it out of our operating budget.”
Mr. Bonner said eagle lovers were invited to chip in on the purchase through a fundraising campaign at the group’s website, aswp.org. Under Audubon management, the nest site will be preserved and protected from development. The Harmar eagles have occupied the nest for two years and fledged one eaglet in 2014.
Mr. Bonner said that under the new partnership the WildEarth company of South Africa will continue to provide the project’s embedded signal stream and video archive. Plans for educational outreach to schools, however, might require a rethinking of WildEarth’s policy of selling advertising space on eagle cam pages.
Mr. Powers said it would be “hard to top” the excitement generated this year when millions of viewers watched as the urban eagles of Hays mated, nurtured eggs, fed three eaglets, fended off predators and taught the young birds to fly.
“It won’t be as novel as this year, but having two eagle cams up will be a big deal. I think getting two views of the Hays nest, one from above and a new one from below to see them going in and out, will keep the viewership up, and the educational aspect will bring more people to watch it.”
New technology will improve management of the camera systems, and Mr. Powers said he hopes to upgrade to high-definition screening for a clearer, crisper picture.
When the Hays eaglets left the area in late summer, the Game Commission took down the video camera. Since then the parents have remained near the nest, high in a hackberry tree overlooking the Monongahela River and in recent weeks were busily making restorations.
Mr. Powers said the December installation of the camera systems will cause some disturbance, but the eagles are heavily invested in the site and are expected to return soon after the workers leave. Mating is expected to begin in mid-January.
Correction (posted Nov. 20, 2014): An earlier version of this story incorrectly said a third camera would be installed at another site.
First Published: November 20, 2014, 8:27 p.m.
Updated: November 21, 2014, 4:05 a.m.
