PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK

We Pittsburghers are noted bald-eagle watchers, be it in the form of the popular webcams that keep an eye on nearby nests or in person in the form of daily eagle-spotting watchers sitting along the banks of the Monongahela.

It was just last week, however, that I realized we have a perfect collision of local history and regional fauna: There’s a bald-eagle nest at a steel mill.

Not, like, inside the mill; that would not be a very nurturing environment. But close enough to count it, as an active nest is on cliffside land owned by the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant, near the river in West Mifflin. At that site, a new couple — Irvin and Stella, two excellent steelworker names — are currently caring for an egg, a process observable in real time on a webcam operated by the Murrysville company PixCams.

There’s something about this quintessentially natural symbol occupying the same land as Pittsburgh’s industrial legacy-bearers that fills me with yinzer delight. And, in all seriousness, it reminds me of the “Love Your Wild Neighbor” mural on the South Side. Dotted with greenery and rolling hills as we are, Pittsburgh is a place where the natural and urban environments interact in fascinating ways; our animal neighbors are an ever-present part of many city communities.

With that in mind — and a good long while spent gazing placidly at the eagle webcam — here are five more iconic Pittsburgh/animal combos I’m willing into existence. I want all of these available to stream by summer, assuming that the animals agree. (The humans better get on board.)

An Actual Kenny Kangaroo
Strike up a partnership between the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium and Kennywood Park, and bring a pair of actual Kenny Kangaroos over to the theme park. And no, I don’t just mean they should wander around the park at will (though that would be endlessly entertaining). Here’s the pitch: Remember those parts of the Old Mill where you could peer out into a little enclosed courtyard? Build kangaroo houses there. They can be spooky if you need to keep with the theming, the kangaroos won’t know the difference. Sure, Kennywood is a somewhat noisy environment for large marsupials, but they’ll benefit in the form of constant Potato Patch access. (Do kangaroos like fries?)

Randyland Raccoon Cam
For one thing, it just rolls off the tongue. For another, I love raccoons so long as they’re not on my front porch. They’re like mischievous pillows, always up to no good. Let them roam Randyland and inspect all the different corners and creations. Can we get a GoPro on them? So much the better.

Hilltop Turkey Tracker
It’s always remarkable to get a glimpse of a turkey in the city. Even knowing that Pittsburgh has access to more flora and fauna than most metropolises, it just seems incongruous; it’s like if you stumbled upon a Coca-Cola machine rising from the middle of a mountain stream. On the rolling and park-dotted side of the Hilltop, however, one will occasionally encounter a massive turkey poking its way down the sidewalk. I want to know where these massive birds are at all times, in the hopes that I might stroll alongside them (at a safe distance) — and, more importantly, protect them. If they wander into the streetcar tracks, we should corral them back into one of the sprawling graveyards we have up here. Even if no webcam option is possible, I just want GPS monitoring so I can confirm at any given time that, yes, there are turkeys in the general vicinity of Mount Washington.

Constant River Turtle Log Watch
Even within miles of The Point, you’ll frequently catch languid turtles sunning themselves in our rivers. This is not only peaceful and whimsical, but it also can be downright entertaining; if you get a good enough log jutting out of the rivers, turtles will actually jockey for prime sunning position, occasionally bonking one another off the log, resulting in a satisfying plunk as a vanquished turtle flops back into the river. Watching this is, I assure you, much better than scrolling TikTok. I would employ a fleet of live-streamers next to actual live streams to capture any turtle developments.

Sloths Everywhere
As the National Aviary has taught us, it’s always great when there’s a sloth around. They’re cute, they’re easy to keep track of and the kids love ’em. So: a sloth for every institution! Carnegie Library sloth. Phipps sloth. Idlewild sloth. PNC Park sloth (it gets its own luxury box, only visited by handlers, feeders and the racing Pierogies). Wholey’s sloth (they don’t eat fish, but we’ll bring fruit from up the street). And — the real dream — Primanti’s sloth. Tell me that sandwich wouldn’t taste better if you were gazing at a sloth.