City trying to protect privacy of bald eagle family

Staff map Signs tell visitors where to park and how to point their binoculars to view the nest. Park hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Ron Alvey Some bird watchers have been trespassing through this gate at the Mad River Well Field.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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Ron Alvey Bald eagles have made their home in the Mad River well field off Harshman Road in Dayton.

Those who get too close are caught on camera

By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 4:03 PM Thursday, May 14, 2009

DAYTON — The bald eagle has landed in Dayton and seems to be attracting people who want to get a little too close to the bird of prey.

The city’s Mad River well field, just east of Eastwood MetroPark, is home to a family of two adult and two juvenile eagles who took up residence this year in a Sycamore tree by renovating the old nest of a red-tailed hawk.

The eagles are likely the first to nest in Montgomery County in decades. The family has an active following among dedicated birders, who peer through binoculars from a designated area at the eastern end of the Hydrobowl.

Word of the birds has spurred some to try to get up close by strolling in the “No Trespassing” zone that includes the well field.

Since the start of the year, Five Rivers MetroParks Ranger Chief Larry Jones said law enforcement has responded to six instances of trespassing on those fields.

“We just had to give people some warnings to leave that area,” Jones said.

To counter the invasion, the city last month installed a sophisticated $7,700 zoom lens observation camera that scans for intruders.

The sharp-eyed sentry works night and day, and unauthorized visitors can expect to find themselves in the clutches of the police if they ignore the warning signs, said Martha Schwendeman of the city’s Division of Water Supply and Treatment.

There is the option to use the camera to transmit images of the eagles, and a photo of the nest is at cityofdayton.org/departments/pa/Pages/EagleWebcam.aspx .

City water employees have named the adult eagles “Jim and Cindy,” to honor the late Jim Kennedy, a 34-year department employee, and his wife.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect the correct price of the security camera installed at the city's Mad River well field is about $7,700. Another security system to deter vandalism and trespassing at Dayton Water Department facilities cost $34,141. Both items were paid for using Water Department funds.

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