Four months after a live bald eagle camera launched in Cape Breton, a young bird of prey has taken flight. The Port Morien Wildlife Association began the project with two eagles and their eggs in Gardiner Mines, N.S., back in March. Ever since, viewers have been watching Soogie, Bruce and their baby Helene, who hatched in April and took her first flight earlier this week. Jeff McNeil, the president of the Port Morien Wildlife Association, says the moment was “impressive.” “We expected her to be a little more clumsy and (have) a little less flight time than what she got and she took to the sky pretty decent and became quite the explorer in the last few days,” he told Your Morning Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett. While the association doesn’t have a GPS tracker on Helene, members and fans have a good idea on her whereabouts. “She’s got a very good security detail to keep a good eye on her, so we’ve tracked her around pretty decent, and the farthest she’s been is almost a kilometre from the nest,” McNeil says. Helene is expected to stay near her family’s nest for the next 10 to 12 weeks. “She may not be there every day, but for the most part, she will be back and forth to the nest periodically … and then after that she will end up going the way in life with finding her own territory and exploring the world more before she grows up.” McNeil expects Soogie and Bruce will continue to use the nest, as long as there’s no “curveballs” in their lives. “They’ve utilized this nest for decades now, so we don’t suspect that they will not come back again,” he said. The Port Morien Wildlife Association plans to do the webcam project again, as long as it can cover overhead costs. “We’ve got plans currently for our window of opportunity to work there to get a few changes done, raise the side camera up higher, this way it gives our viewers a better view inside the nest like they once had before they grew the nest up as high as they did after they lost their first two eggs,” says McNeil. The association also plans to ask the province’s Department of Natural Resources to get further approvals. “We’re hoping that they may allow us next year to not only band the birds, but if we can get the funding together maybe put a GPS backpack on one of the eaglets so that we can actually see where the eaglet goes as it goes through its lifetime.” Updates on the nest can be found on Facebook and the camera can still be watched live on YouTube. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
