Connecticut residents keep holiday quiet for nesting eagles

COLUMBIA, Conn. -- Independence Day was unusually quiet in one small town as residents heeded a request to protect a family of bald eagles.

Carmen Vance, the first selectman of Columbia, said nobody set off fireworks around Columbia Lake during the holiday weekend.

State officials had warned the noise could startle an eaglet out of her nest before she was ready to fly.

Last summer, two eagles became the first to call the lake home since the species returned to the state in 1992.

This spring, an eaglet appeared in the nest, which is about 100 feet up in a tree.

Environmental officials said the young eagle should be ready to fly in a couple of weeks.