PLATTEVILLE, Colo — The bald eagle nest in Platteville that's featured on Xcel Energy's Bird Cam now has an egg.
Xcel has two cameras positioned to watch the nest near the company's Fort St. Vrain Station. The pair of eagles lives in the 6-foot-wide by 5-foot-deep nest sitting high in a cottonwood tree.
The nest has been active for years and went online in 2003, according to Xcel.
The eagles usually lay eggs in mid-February, which then hatch in late March to early April. The young fledge (develop wing feathers for flight) in June. To date, 40 eaglets have hatched there, though the number of eagles that have made it to fledging is lower than that, according to Xcel.
Bald eagles are found throughout Colorado in the summer and winter months, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). The birds typically conduct nesting activities from January to June.
They can often be seen near large reservoirs and along major waterways including the South Platte, Arkansas, Rio Grande, Yampa and Colorado rivers.
Wildlife officials said bald eagles were listed as "endangered" on the U.S. Endangered Species List until 1995, when the species was downlisted to "threatened" status.
CPW said bald eagle populations recovered significantly by 2007, and the species was delisted from Endangered Species Act protection.
Experts now estimate that more than 16,000 nesting pairs live in the lower 48 states, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
RELATED: Two eaglets hatch at Fort St. Vrain
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