They grow up so fast.

Another bald eagle fledgling left the nest in Hays last Thursday, Jim Bonner of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania confirmed. The eaglet joined its older sibling, which took flight four days before.

The Hays eagles are in their 11th breeding season and have raised 20 chicks during that time. They laid these two eaglets on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20.

Occasionally forced to rebuild due to tree or nest collapse, they’ve inhabited multiple spots in the area since 2013.

The parents have a strong track record of raising their young, but they’re not off the hook quite yet. According to Bonner, fledglings tend to return to the nest for food as they get the hang of flying.

“The immediate fledgling time is probably the most dangerous time of their lives,” Bonner said. “No bird knows how to fly until they do it for the first time.”

Once they leave the nest for good, the eaglets may or may not make their own nests near Pittsburgh, according to Bonner.

PixCams, a Murrysville-based company that works with the Audubon Society to monitor eagle’s nests in the area, captured the moment on video. Last year, more than 2.4 million people streamed the nest.

The livestream currently is blurred in the middle from moisture under the lens, PixCams owner Bill Powers said, but should be fixed once nesting season ends late this year.

For those seeking an in-person view of the nest, which is located on a steep hillside near the Glenwood Bridge, Bonner recommends taking the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.

After nearing extinction in the mid-1900s, bald eagles have become a conservation success story. There’s an estimated 300 nesting pairs in Pennsylvania and 71,400 across the country — quadruple the national count in 2009. There are about 10 pairs near the Pittsburgh area.

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