Strong Winds Prove Fatal For Beloved Shepherdstown Eaglets, But Adults Rebuild Nest

Since 2005, the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown has captured the lives of eagles nesting in a nearby sycamore tree for a nationwide virtual audience, streaming their daily activities online with hidden cameras.

But strong winds over the weekend toppled this year’s nest, dropping a brood of three eaglets 90 feet and killing them in the process.

“That nest had been there for 22 years, and it was sad to see it go,” said Randy Robinson, an outreach coordinator for the NCTC. The NCTC is a training center for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

“The eaglets were four weeks old, and that’s only about one-third of the way to being able to fly off on their own,” Robinson said. “They weren’t anywhere near being able to fly.”

Robinson said that news was particularly difficult for families and classrooms who found joy in watching the eggs hatch.

“We offer our condolences to them, and we’re hoping for better outcomes next year,” he said.

Luckily, both adult eagle parents survived the incident. And a new sighting Thursday might indicate a better future for the nest may indeed lie ahead.

The NCTC announced on Facebook that the pair of adult eaglets returned to the nest site the morning of April 24, and began reconstructing a nest there, preparing for possible hatchlings in the future.

Bald eagles were previously listed under the Endangered Species Act due to habitat loss and hunting, but the birds-of-prey were removed from the list in 2007 due to population growth.

Despite the loss of one nest in Shepherdstown, Robinson said that these trends for the nation’s bald eagle population have been more promising.

“Bald eagles are really coming back in a good way,” he said. “It’s a conservation success story.”