EagleCam

JOHNSON CITY (Jan. 31)– East Tennessee State University’s Department of Biological Sciences is gearing up for a new nesting season at two local nesting sites of American Bald Eagles through the university’s EagleCam Project. One nest is in Bluff City and the other is in Johnson City.

Dr. Fred Alsop, ETSU professor of Biological Sciences and coordinator of the  EagleCam Program, says, “Our two area bald eagle nests are active again this year and we have new and improved cameras and equipment installed to capture all the excitement of viewing nesting activities of our national bird.”

The Johnson City area nesting pair is in iis fifth breeding year and the Bluff City pair is entering its sixth year. Both pairs have been successful in fledging young eaglets each of those years. Last year, in ETSU’s first year of live-streaming the “nestivities,” more than 1.3 million views were recorded from eagle watchers in 179 countries.

Through sponsorship of the project by corporations and individual donors, new and improved computers have been installed at both sites, as well as an additional camera at each nest. The Bluff City site has four infrared cameras so the nests will be visible at night, in addition to daytime viewing. The audio feed from the two sites has been upgraded, as well as the bandwidth for the computers to provide better quality images and sound.

When bald eagles are about five years old, they select a mate and form a lifelong bond. They begin breeding, laying eggs and raising their young.

The nest is a permanent part of the pair’s territory and is used every year. Beginning in November in East Tennessee, the adults begin adding new sticks and other materials to their huge nests. The average bald eagle nest is four to five feet in diameter and two to four feet deep. Each year, the adult pair adds one to two feet of new material to the nest. The local birds bring as much as 200-250 pounds of new material to the nest between November and January. They begin spending more time in the nest, breeding and then lay eggs in February.

The local bald eagles have produced two eggs each year. The incubation time is about 35 days, with chicks hatching in March.

Last year, the Bluff City pair hatched a chick on March 9, with a Johnson City chick following on March 20. Chicks remain in the nest about 12 weeks before taking flight in June or early July.

Viewers can follow the lives of the local bald eagles 24 hours a day on any computer or mobile device capable of linking to the live feeds. In addition, teaching modules are being developed so teachers may incorporate the eagles’ progress in classrooms for grades 1 to 12.

To learn more about the program, visit the EagleCam homepage: https://www.etsu.edu/cas/biology/eagle-cam/.

For further information, contact Alsop at 423-439-6838 or alsopf@etsu.edu.