A pair of resident bald eagles have returned to the Dulles Greenway Wetlands in Leesburg, Virginia, and the community can watch them settle down for the winter through a high definition livestream of their nest.
The Dulles Greenway announced the eagles’ return on Thursday, saying the pair had begun building their nest for the season. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the pair will begin laying eggs in January.
A mated pair of American bald eagles has lived in the Dulles Greenway Wetlands for over 15 years now, the Dulles Greenway said in its announcement. Bald eagles will use a productive nest year after year, according to the National Eagle Center. While they are in the process of rebuilding their nest, they will add roughly 1 to 2 feet of material each year they return to the nest.
“It has been very exciting watching the bald eagles build their impressive nest to prepare for the egg laying and incubation period,” said Terry Hoffman, Public & Customer Relations Manager at Dulles Greenway, in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming eaglets in Spring 2022 and we are thrilled to share this experience with our local community.”
In September 2021, the Dulles Greenway partnered with the American Eagle Foundation, the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and HDonTap to install two livestream cameras on a tree that overlooked the eagles’ nest.
The bald eagles will typically arrive in the nest around 7 to 8 a.m. and 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Once the eagles have finished preparing their nest, they will begin laying eggs and incubating them.
