A Fox Chapel photographer documented the first flights of the two young bald eagles from a nest above Route 28 in Harmar this week.

The bald eagle couple, which is in its eighth year of nesting on the same hillside, has produced 13 young birds in total that have successfully fledged from the nest.

“I saw some of the flights of the young birds and their landings were not as smooth as an adult, but that’s to be expected,” said Gina G. Gilmore, a photographer from Fox Chapel.

Like the young Hays bald eagles, the first landings of the juvenile birds are often clumsy as they learn how to fly, according to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania.

The Harmar eagles are seen often flying above Route 28 and fishing in the Allegheny River.

The young birds are exploring the area, Gilmore said. She has seen them foraging on the ground behind the nest and spending time flying along the rock face along Route 28.

The first year of a young bald eagle’s life is the most perilous, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Crescent Township incident

Two young eagles died in Crescent Township recently, according to police.

There is an active bald eagle nest in Crescent Township, the first eagle nest in Allegheny County in decades.

Eagle watchers suspect that at least one of the young birds could have been from that nest. However, young eagles can be found throughout the region.

The Crescent Township Police said a young eagle was killed after it flew into the windshield of a car on McGovern Boulevard on Wednesday.

The driver of the vehicle was unharmed but the windshield was destroyed.

This was the second young bald eagle that died in the township this week, police said.

“The animals are breathtakingly beautiful,” police said. “It’s a sad day in Crescent Township.”

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