Zoo-Hatched Eaglet Put Into Nest

DOYLESTOWN – For the second time in 13 years, Pennsylvania Game Commission and Philadelphia Zoo officials teamed up to foster a zoo-hatched eagle into a wild nest in the Commonwealth. This time the eaglet was placed in a wild nest already holding two eaglets near Doylestown on Thursday.

“Fostering is a process that the Game Commission has used successfully in the recent past to place eaglets that were in trees in which their nest was situated was blown down,” said Dr. John Morgan, Game Commission Southeast Region Wildlife Management Supervisor. “In fact, in August of 2007, we fostered an eaglet into a Berks County nest that was separated from its parents when its nest in Lancaster County blew down in a wind storm.

“The decision of where to foster this Zoo-hatched eaglet was based on being able to find a nest with no more than two eaglets of similar age and size. This is not always an easy task.”

A leading wildlife conservation and education institution, the Philadelphia Zoo has been involved in numerous bird conservation initiatives throughout the world. On April 2, the Zoo’s resident pair of eagles (both rehabilitated birds that cannot survive in the wild) hatched an eaglet from an egg laid around Feb. 25.

Through an ongoing agreement with the federal government in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, this eaglet will be fostered into a wild nest further bolstering the already-recovering Pennsylvania population of bald eagles.

“The bald eagle is a tremendous conservation success story,” said Dr. Andrew Baker, Chief Operating Officer and V.P. of Animal Programs for the Philadelphia Zoo. “We’re thrilled to have been a part of this effort and are committed to the survival of other endangered species.”

Fostering and hacking were two of the primary means of re-establishing Pennsylvania’s bald eagle population.

“With more than 170 nesting pairs in Pennsylvania, there no longer is need to raise eagles in one place and foster them to another place,” said Doug Gross, Game Commission biologist. “Protecting our eagle nesting locations with the cooperation of the landowners has proven to be an excellent strategy for eagle recovery in recent years.

“What’s so exciting about the bald eagle’s return is that each year they’re nesting in more counties, strengthening their population in Pennsylvania and giving more residents the chance to enjoy these magnificent birds,” Gross said. “Their presence is stronger than ever and it doesn’t appear that they’re close to being done claiming new nesting territories in the Commonwealth. Who knows, maybe your county will be the next to host eagles.”

Since 1983, Pennsylvania’s eagle nests have produced more than 1,100 eaglets, and the population has increased by about 15 percent annually. The heaviest production, of course, has occurred in recent years. Eagle nesting success has been 70 percent or greater for some time. Poor weather conditions have the greatest impact on nesting success, followed by nest intrusions and predators, but as more eagles nest instate and competition for prime nesting sites increases, eagle nesting success eventually may level off or drop.


“There’s still plenty of new or sparsely-used territory for nesting pairs in the Commonwealth,” noted Gross. “Some of the best remaining includes the Susquehanna’s north and west branches, the Juniata River and the Lake Erie shoreline. There also are of a number of large lakes and impoundments scattered across the state with more than adequate fisheries and no eagles.”