Berry College's bald eagle couple first appeared on the main campus in the spring of 2012. Since that time, they have continued to nest in the top of a tall pine tree situated between the main entrance and the parking lot of the Steven J. Cage Athletic and Recreation Center. They successfully produced two eaglets (B1 and B2) in early 2013 and one eaglet (B3) in early 2014. All of these eaglets successfully fledged.
It is believed that the bald eagles remain in the area during the summer months and do not migrate as there is plentiful food available from lakes, the Berry quarry and the nearby Oostanaula River. They have occasionally been sighted at or near the nest during the summer, probably to ensure that other animals know it is occupied.
A second nest was documented in early 2014 on the Mountain Campus in a remote and inaccessible area. The area is closed to the public. Three eaglets were produced (BMC1, BMC2, BMC3) and they successfully fledged.
Feeds for live streaming cameras are featured on this page.
http://www.berry.edu/eaglecam/
2012-2013
The eagles were first spotted on the main campus in March 2012 by a Berry student who reported their presence to his professor. It was an unusual time for eagles to nest and there has been speculation that they may have had a nest elsewhere possibly lost to a storm.
Eagles have been reported in the vicinity of the campus for the past two to three years, but this is the first documented nest in the modern history of Floyd County. The eagles were seen carrying sticks to build their nest, but to the disappointment of many, they had nested too late to produce offspring. By April they were gone.
During the summer, the college set up an approach camera in the parking lot, and in the fall of 2012, the eagles returned and began demonstrating nesting behavior-adding sticks and pine straw to the existing nest. In late December or early January eggs were produced. Two eaglets became visible in a few weeks. They successfully fledged in the spring on April 22 and April 28.
During the 2013 season, there were documented sightings on campus of the original pair, their two eaglets and at least four juvenile eagles.
2013-14
The college added a camera to the tree (next cam 1) for direct viewing into the nest. The eagle couple once again returned to the nest in late September and began "nestorations" in preparation for the season. On January 14, 2014, the first egg was laid, followed by a second egg on January 17. On February 22, one of the eggs hatched and the other egg was seen as non-viable. The eaglet that hatched, B3, fledged on May 22.
During the 2013-14 season, the college set up a Berry Eagles Facebook page, and the eagles captured national and international attention from viewers and media outlets. Millions of viewers watched the eagles daily.
2014-15
Berry added a third camera (nest cam 2) to the nest tree, and the eagles returned to the nest in September, right on schedule. They once again refurbished the nest and exhibited appropriate mating activity. The first egg was laid on January 6.
Please check the Berry College Eagles Facebook page for regular updates this year. Bald eagles mate for life, and we are hopeful that we will enjoy their presence at Berry for many years to come.
Berry Eagles FAQ
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For two years now, Georgia Power has donated a truck and manpower to install cameras with a direct view of the nest. The newest nest camera (nest cam 2) with sound is a Sony SNC-CH280 and was purchased through donations to the Eagle Fund. The older Sony SNC-CH180 camera (nest cam 1) was donated by Sony for last year's mating season.
