Watch Live: Oklahoma Bald Eagle Pair Hatches Third Egg

A bald eagle pair nesting on a pole near Stillwater has hatched a third egg.The Sutton Avian Research Center, which set up the cameras on the nest, says the four eggs were laid in late February. The cameras are solar-powered, so periods of cloudy or bad weather knock them offline temporarily and the eggs were laid during one of these periods. The nest is under constant surveillance, thanks to the Sutton Avian Research Centerin Bartlesville. The Center has been studying bald eagles in Oklahoma...

Friday, March 22nd 2013, 11:27 am

By: Richard Clark

Watch Live: Oklahoma Bald Eagle Pair Hatches Third Egg

A bald eagle pair nesting on a pole near Stillwater has hatched a third egg.

The Sutton Avian Research Center, which set up the cameras on the nest, says the four eggs were laid in late February. The cameras are solar-powered, so periods of cloudy or bad weather knock them offline temporarily and the eggs were laid during one of these periods.

The nest is under constant surveillance, thanks to the Sutton Avian Research Center in Bartlesville. The Center has been studying bald eagles in Oklahoma for years and has developed expertise in installing cameras on their nests. It provides the video feed from the nest cameras on the internet, allowing people around the world to see up close how bald eagles raise their young.

Watch the live bald eagle nest cameras.

The Center has cameras on the nest in Stillwater as well as a nest near Vian in the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

This nesting season has been a roller coaster ride for the Center and the eagle fans who watch the cameras. A pair of eagles laid two eggs on the Vian nest, but then abandoned them when other adult eagles invaded their territory. A pair of great horned owls then took up residence in the nest, incubating an egg left behind by the eagles before laying two of its own, braving a hail and even a snow storm.

Eventually all three eggs disappeared during a break in the camera coverage, but the owls still come back to the nest periodically.

In the meantime, a bald eagle pair returned to the pole nest near Stillwater for the first time in a couple of nesting seasons. An old tree used to stand where the pole is now, but it eventually collapsed, taking a nest with it. The Center got help from OG & E to erect a pole in the spot, and the eagles responded by rebuilding the nest in the new "tree."

The Center says that pair has several nest sites in the area and appeared to be settling on one in a different tree a few months ago, when a storm blew the tree down. That's when the pair moved back to the pole nest.

On the morning of Friday, 3/22/2013, viewers were treated to a feeding. The male adult brought a huge fish to the nest, which will likely be present for several days.