Pittsburg, PA
Signs of hope that Pittsburgh’s Hays bald eagles could rebuild nest
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – All eyes are on Pittsburgh’s iconic Hays bald eagles, and anxiety is high as their biggest fans wait to see if the majestic pair rebuilds their nest that collapsed during a storm last year.
The Hays eagles usually welcome new eggs in their nest in mid-February. Many people are wondering if they will reconstruct their nest in time for the upcoming breeding season.
But with time running out for the birds, the experts are seeing new signs of hope.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of activity with the pair on the hillside within the last couple of weeks, which is a really good sign that there could be potential nesting,” said Bill Powers, president and owner of PixCams Inc.
The eagles have been seen chasing away intruders on the live-streamed nest camera that’s provided by PixCams and the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.
A few days ago, the eagle pair was seen on camera chasing a young eagle perched on their tree.
“Typically, they wouldn’t have this territorial behavior unless they were thinking about nesting because they wouldn’t put that energy into protecting that site from potential fishing or other birds being in that area,” Powers said.
He said they’re even listening for the majestic birds with a new tool called BirdNET-Pi, which allows them to pick up eagle call detections.
“It lets us actually look at the audio signals and identify what the species are. We’re getting ticks of the eagles’ chatter that we can’t actually see on the camera, which really helps us to know that they’re there,” Powers said.
He said the tool has recorded bald eagles making noise in the evening.
“We’re seeing these nighttime calls, which are a really good sign because we’re seeing the eagles are actually roosting near where this nest tree is and they’re roosting in a pair. So, that shows us there was this pair bonding is actually starting,” said Powers.
Bald eagles have been nesting in Pittsburgh’s Hays neighborhood since 2013, with 20 eaglets taking flight.
It’s the fifth time the birds have had to build a new nest. Rachel Handel with the Audubon Society said they have faith in them.
“When the nest fell back in 2016, they rebuilt in three days. So, they have a history of being able to pull together a nest very quickly if they need to. We could really be seeing something pretty exciting happening very soon. Generally, these birds lay eggs in mid-February,” Handel said.
“We’re going to be looking for mating. We’re going to be looking for bonding rituals. And one of those rituals is nest building,” she added.
The hope is that the beloved eagles don’t soar in another director.
“Our hope is that if they don’t build in that tree, they’ll at least be close,” Handel said.
No matter what happens, it’s too late to move the PixCam camera from its current location.
“We’re just hopeful it’s going to be in the tree or where we can see it. And if not, we move it next year to where the new location would be,” Powers said.
One of Pittsburgh’s biggest goals before hosting the NFL Draft was to modernize Market Square. It is just one of the spaces in the downtown area that is being transformed for the massive event.
Web Editor : Sydney Ross
Posted
2026 NFL Draft Pittsburgh regional transportation plan unveiled
With the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh quickly approaching, city officials and Pittsburgh Regional Transit unveiled its regional transportion plan.
Extensive road closures will be in place around Point State Park and Acrisure Stadium from April 22-25 as the 2026 NFL Draft brings three days of excitement and football fans into the city of Pittsburgh.
During NFL Draft events, the city’s Downtown and North Shore areas will convert to a walkable “Draft Campus,” with motorized traffic limited to Pittsburgh Regional Transit vehicles, the city’s light rail system (the “T”) and other official providers.
Therefore, many streets into and around the “Draft Campus” are closed to vehicle traffic starting April 22. Traffic patterns will be adjusted to allow Pirates fans to access PNC Park for baseball games held during the road closures, according to NFLDraftPittsburgh.com.
In addition to these streets, the Interstate 279 and Interstate 579 High Occupancy Vehicle lanes into the city are closed to vehicle traffic all week; only authorized bus traffic and emergency vehicles will be permitted to use those lanes.
People planning to use the Beaver County Transit Authority bus to reach downtown Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft events can find more information about the authority’s bus service plans on the BCTA website.
Here is the list of road closures in place from April 22-25, according to NFLDraftPittsburgh.com, which has a complete guide to getting into and around the city during NFL Draft events.
- Art Rooney Avenue
- West General Robinson Street to Tony Dorsett Drive
- Scotland Avenue
- Casino Drive, from Sproat Way
- North Shore Drive, from Chuck Noll Way
- Reedsdale Street to Tony Dorsett Drive
- Chuck Noll Way
- Tony Dorsett Drive
- Sproat Way
- Allegheny Avenue from Ridge Avenue
- North Shore Drive, from Chuck Noll Way to Mazeroski Way
- Mazeroski Way
- West General Robinson Street
- Lacock Street, from Federal Street
- Federal Street, from Lacock Street
- Merchant Street
- I-279 southbound exit 1B ramp
- I-279 northbound exit 1B ramp
- Route 65 southbound ramp to Fort Duquesne
- Route 65 northbound ramp from Fort Duquesne Bridge
- T1 ramp from Reedsdale Street and Ridge Avenue
- Sixth Street Bridge, aka the Roberto Clemente Bridge
- Seventh Street Bridge, aka the Andy Warhol Bridge
- Isabella Street
- Sixth Street
- Fort Pitt on ramp, from 10th Street Bypass and Fort Duquesne Boulevard
- Commonwealth Place
- Liberty Avenue extension
- Penn Avenue, from Stanwix Street to 9th Street
- Liberty Avenue/PPG Paints Arena exit off the Fort Pitt Bridge
- Smithfield Street Bridge
Pennsylvania’s 511PA.com online transportation website will feature a special NFL webpage providing real-time traffic information in and around the city during the NFL Draft.
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