WASHINGTON — If you are looking for a different way to ring in the New Year, here’s an idea: Join the bald eagle couple known as “Mr. President and The First Lady” in the big count down.
The D.C. eagle cameras have gone live for New Year’s Eve. A special question-and-answer session about the birds is scheduled from midnight to 2 a.m. Sunday, New Year’s Day.
The popular pair lives atop a tulip poplar tree at the National Arboretum in D.C. They became a worldwide internet sensation, with people watching from more than 100 countries as the couple raised their eaglets in 2016.
The American Eagle Foundation, a nonprofit bald eagle conservation group, said Mr. President returned to the nest in September and The First Lady returned in October. Since then the couple has been preparing their nest for more eaglets.
Once the new year arrives, high-definition cameras will be streaming 24/7. The American Eagle Foundation installed the audio equipment in and around the tree after the eaglets left the nest in August.
Also, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted the U.S. National Arboretum and the American Eagle Foundation permission to fix one side of the eagle’s nest that was collapsing. With the guidance of eagle experts, tree experts placed a few large tree limbs underneath the nest for support.
