Just a few days remain to enter a naming contest for the U.S. Steel Mon Valley Irvin Works bald eaglet who turned a month old this week, with proceeds benefitting a Saegertown wildlife center.
The Steel City Eagles Facebook group is letting the faithful know that a $5 donation to the contest lets them choose from Ikuzo, Japanese for “Let’s go!”; Ocho, appropriate for the eighth eaglet to be born at the mill nest; Steel, a fitting name for a strong young eagle; Starsky, as the group believes Pittsburgh needs a Starsky for its Hutch (plant manager Don German’s nickname) and Cutch (you know who this is!); Infinity, symbolizing how long group members love watching its nest cam; and Hachi, another Japanese word that can mean “eight.”
As of Monday, nearly 100 supporters contributed $4,000. It ends on Wednesday, and the winning pick will be announced Thursday.
The beneficiary, Tamarack Wildlife Center, “promotes the welfare of wildlife and inspires care for nature through excellence in rehabilitation and education,” according to its website. In 2022 staff there helped Rosie, the U.S. Steel fledgling who fell from the mill nest site and damaged her flight and tail feathers, according to the contest information. The center treated Rosie for three months before her successful release that October. More about Rosie’s story is available here.
Right now German says Ocho and Steel are neck and neck in the contest. The group has not set a fundraising goal, but all involved hope to raise $5,000. Last year donors gave $7,000 en route to naming the seventh eaglet born at the mill nest Lucky. In the contest’s first year Hop – for USS 6 – bested all contenders, and the contest brought in $2,700.
“We never really set a target,” German wrote in an email. “Anything we raise for Tamarack is a blessing and more than they had yesterday.”
USS 8 hatched on March 27. On average it takes about 35 days before eaglets begin to fly and start the fledgling process. German says the baby is just starting to grow its feathers. The faithful watch the progress on the webcam U.S. Steel installed on the nest.
“The eaglet does not get all of its feathers for flight until about 10 weeks,” he wrote. “They will jump around in the nest and exercise to get stronger. Then they will start to ‘branch’: going out on the limb. Jumping on the limb and back into the nest. This will help with their takeoff and landing so to speak.”
German gives presentations around the region on the eagles and their offspring. At 10 weeks, he tells audiences, the entire body is covered with feathers, marking its time to fledge and leave the nest behind. The tail and wing feathers will continue to grow after that for weeks.
He predicts the eaglet will leave the nest around June 19, but the birds can take off anywhere between 10 and 14 weeks. In the meantime, the parents will keep bringing fish to keep their baby fit and healthy and more twigs, sticks and fluff to keep the nest comfortable for the entire family. And they will have a constant audience on that webcam.
The link to the contest: https://givebutter.com/USS8namingcontest?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ8g-NleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFhcVVvUkhjNjNxbUU3SUJKAR6ZnFg3NXvIiBuiCTnQXO7yCXrre20HbQik95xonmejyWZ-1vT1tkKaGRqiSw_aem__RMyr49XL0kiHI95jl0BdQ
The link to the U.S. Steel webcam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CP8QA_xKx4.
The Steel City Eagles is a private Facebook page, but anyone interested can request access: https://www.facebook.com/groups/977133323687501.
Helen is a copy editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike. Contact her at hfallon@unionprogress.com.