Bald Eagles Find New Home At Popular Nashville Destination

Nashville has been growing over the past few years, with more and more people moving to the city. Now it turns out that even animals can't resist finding a home in Music City.

For the first time in recorded history, a couple of young bald eagles are building a home at Radnor Lake. According to News Channel 5, the birds, estimated to be about 5 years old, are creating a nest in a perch near the paths surrounding the lake.

"It's the first time we've been managing Radnor Lake that we've had eagles build a nest and start this process," said park manager Steve Ward. "So, we're excited about that. We want that to be something that the public can be excited about."

While it's not common to see a bald eagle nest near Nashville, the overall population of the birds in Tennessee has grown to include 200 recorded nests around the state since the first pair to nest in the early 1980s.

"It looks like they're sticking around," said David Hanni, bird conservation coordinator for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. "I've seen them bring several sticks to the nest location and obviously focused on building up the nest."

Even though park officials want the public to be excited about the eagles' nest, they want to ensure the birds have their own space away from prying eyes.

"It's a balancing act as far as, how we manage the resource while allowing the public to have access to it," said Ward. "It would be very easy to shut the gates at Radnor lake and protect this natural area. But, what benefit would we have if the public couldn't enjoy it?"