West Virginia eagle parents repairing second nest after losing three chicks in storm
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Bella and Scout, an adult eagle pair living at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, have already begun repairing a second nest after their nest was blown out of a 90-foot tree during a storm last week.
The three chicks in the nest, who were about four weeks old—named Sage, Echo and Cotton by local students—all died when the nest fell, to the dismay of viewers across the U.S. that watch the nest on the NCTC live Eaglecam feeds.
According to NCTC officials, eagle nests are not engineered to last forever. During the weekly 'Live from the Eagle Nest' livestream on April 24, Randy Robinson from the NCTC said that they 'knew that the upper nest would not last forever,' and that the 22 years that it lasted was a good lifetime of an eagle nest. Over the 22 years, 45 offspring were fledged from the nest, which Robinson said is a 'very productive nest.'
While the old nest was 'obliterated,' there is a second lower nest that the pair built last year, about 15 feet below the older nest. In fact, biologists expected the pair to use the new nest after it was built, but they used the old instead.
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That new nest only suffered minor damage in the storm, and Bella and Scout have already been seen on the new lower nest making repairs, and although there is a small chance that they could mate and lay a new clutch this year, it is more likely that the next clutch will be in 2026.
NCTC officials will inspect the nest and reposition the cameras in the fall when there's no eagle activity.
Viewers can continue to follow the eagles at the NCTC by watching the live Eaglecams, following the NCTC on Facebook, and tuning in for 'Live from the Eagle Nest' specials on YouTube.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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