×
×
homepage logo

Students learn about NCTC, Earth Day and eagles at event

By Toni Milbourne - For the Chronicle | Apr 14, 2023

National Conservation Training Center Educational Outreach Coordinator Randy Robinson shows a walrus tusk, an item that is illegal to bring into the United States, to Shepherdstown Elementary School's fourth graders last Wednesday. Toni Milbourne

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Fourth grade students at Shepherdstown Elementary School spent last Wednesday morning learning about Earth Day and eagles.

Randy Robinson, educational outreach coordinator for the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC), was joined by three members of the Friends of NCTC board — Ellen Murphy, Joe Spurgas and Chairperson Karmann Kessler — to give the presentation. Each of these individuals spent some time sharing about Earth Day and the importance of taking care of animals and the environment.

Robinson discussed information about the eagles who nest at the NCTC location, right outside of the Corporation of Shepherdstown. This year, Robinson said, one eaglet has hatched in the nest, and is now 10 days old.

“There were two eggs, but the second didn’t hatch,” Robinson said. “We don’t know why, but the other hatched and is doing well.”

Robinson presented a slide show detailing the history of the eagles’ life at NCTC. Eagles began building a nest in a tree on the NCTC property, approximately 20 years ago. The nest has increased in size over the years, as the eagles continue to add to it each year. It is now approximately eight feet wide, five feet deep and weighs nearly a ton, Robinson said.

Fourth grade students at Shepherdstown Elementary School attempt to build a “nest” using pool noodles, after learning how eagles at the National Conservation Training Center built their nest, last Wednesday. Toni Milbourne

According to Robinson, the female eagle is larger than the male, but both of the birds are responsible for keeping their eggs warm and safe, while awaiting the hatching of their young. Both parents then, too, bring fish to feed the eaglets and continue to take care of them until the eaglets reach about three months-of-age, at which time they leave the nest.

Robinson said that even after the young leave, they sometimes come back to the nest if they can’t find food on their own. However, when they begin to look for a mate, they leave the area.

“The lifespan of an eagle in the wild is about 25 years,” Robinson said in response to a question from one of the students. “In captivity, they can live up to 40 years.”

The eagles lay their eggs in mid-February. They have an incubation period of approximately 35-38 days. According to Robinson, the eaglets then grow very fast, but they do not have the appearance of an eagle, with the white head and white tips to their wings, until they are approximately 4-5 years old.

In addition to learning about the eagles, students were also told about endangered species, such as the box turtle and wood turtle, from this geographic area. Other countries also have endangered species such as the elephants in Africa, Robinson told the children.

He showed examples of items that are prohibited, because they come from animals. The items included a tie made from bird feathers and an elephant’s ivory tusk. He explained that the items he had were confiscated by law enforcement, from individuals trying to smuggle those items into the United States.

Before students went back to their regular school day, they were challenged by Murphy to construct their own eagle nest. Each child was given a pool noodle, with the task being to work together to make a nest out of the noodles that would not blow or fall apart.

The students quickly decided the best way to work on the problem was to try to weave the noodles together. Despite their efforts, their “nest” was not as secure as that created by the birds.

Murphy pointed out that making a nest with large, bendable sticks was difficult for the students to do, yet eagles, who don’t have the benefit of using hands, somehow are capable of building sturdy nests with hundreds of sticks.