It was an ordinary day. Seems that the bald eagles that are living in the U.S. Steel Irvin Works plant are popping up all over the world...for you see they are 4-inch tall versions of the bald eagle that are being manufactured at their plant in Pittsburgh, PA. Since this summer, "Claire" and "Irvin" have been seen roosting in England's Stonehenge and Windsor Castle, the redwoods in California, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia, the South Pole and Steelers and Penguins games.
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| Irvin at Stonehenge in England |
A retired school teacher, Phyllis Miele-Chlebowski, said that they travel well and has dubbed the West Mifflin steel mill raptors "The Royal Eagles" when she posed them in front of Windsor Castle. Children ran up to Claire to ask if they could have Claire and Irvin. She had to politely tell them, "They're traveling with me." But, she's not the only fan of the real-life bald eagles, snapping pictures of the foam figurines at iconic and ordinary destinations. It's been a running gag since this summer, when lightening zapped equipment that livestreams the bald eagles' nest for a few weeks. Fans were left in the dark. People were asking Phyllis "Where in the world is Claire?" Nobody could see her anymore. Soon she was turning up on Facebook in places around the country and the world. U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, posed with a figurine of Claire at the South Pole.  |
| Bald Eagles Irving and Claire in San Francisco at Bay Bridge |
The idea of spiriting the foam eagle figurines to far-flung destinations was hatched by U.S. Steel's Irvin Works manager Don German, who promotes the plant's resident eagles with a live webcam of the mill's nest and public presentations. "I thought, 'Wouldn't it be neat to do a finding Waldo type of thing?'" he said. German and his wife, Diana, started posting photos of the Claire and Irvin figurines at the beach, a redwood forest, a winery, a hunting camp and in their Jeep. Really, anywhere they went. Naturally...other eagle fans stepped in. Miele-Chlebowski took the eagles to Costco and plunged then into the frozen fish section. Her facebook post had the birds discussing the high price of seafood and how they got a much better deal fishing in the Monongahela River. Mr. German launched the podcast "Eagle Talk" in 2022 after one of the mill's eaglets was knocked from the nest, then rescued, rehabbed and released back into the wild. He hit it big on an educational mission on eagles, reaching more than 5,000 people with presentations at schools. "It's cool how U.S. Steel's product is mined, melted and made in America," he said. "To have our national bird choose our plant as their home is an honor." Around the time he started "Eagle Talk", one of German's coworkers showed him a generic foam rubber bald eagle that can be squeezed to reduce stress. He just had to have them and has custom-ordered 9,000 of the tiny eagles. With multiple runs of eagles in different sizes, he named the largest one Claire because female eagles are larger than males. "When she wants a fish delivery she is squawking," he said. "The Claire figure looks meaner." German said. In real life, Claire rules the roost. Miele-Chlebowski attended German's eagle talks more than once. "I was just mesmerized by all the facts and info about eagles," she said. "They are amazing architects, building a nest out of sticks that can weight a ton or two. Then there's their parenting sills and how they mate for life." The birds will start their fifth nesting in a few months at the mill site in West Mifflin. U.S. Steel's squishy, stress toy bald eagles are not for sale. However, they are free at German's Eagle Talks in the community as well as the steel makers fundraiser for Tamarack Wildlife Center in Crawford County, which specializes in rehabbing injured bald eagles. Join German's Steel City Eagles Facebook page for more details. To watch the steel mill eagles, visit ussteel.com/eagles and for the Hays eagles, visit pixcams.com. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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