DAYTON, Ohio — Jim Weller was fascinated with bald eagles before he ever saw one in person. His views of the majestic creatures were relegated to television and books.

• About ten years ago, bald eagles started showing up around Dayton
• Weller started a bald eagle watch club in the Miami Valley, and has spotted and photographed dozens of eagles
• Weller wrote stories for his grandchildren, and decided to write a book for all kids

Weller grew up in the 1960's, when eagles were fighting extinction.

“As a kid, I would lay on the hillside and just stare into the sky knowing that if I wished hard enough, I'd see an eagle fly over,” Weller said. “And it just never happened. There weren't any eagles around.”

Bald eagles are federally protected and at one time were on the endangered species list.

Weller said between 1938 and 2008, there were no bald eagle sightings in the Dayton area. 

Weller retired from the city of Dayton and soon found himself in the middle of a resurgence of bald eagles. 

He says there are more than a dozen eagle nests in the Miami Valley – almost all of them producing eaglets. 

But two eagles built a nest at Carillon Historical Park in the middle of Dayton in January 2018.

Coincidentally, they built their nest in the top of a tree that overlooks a Wright Brothers building. 

Park staff named the eagles, Orv and Willa – a nod to the Wright Brothers Orville and Wilbur. 

“You can stand right at the base of the tree almost where the nest is and watch them come and go, which is a real advantage from what you typically get.”

Eagle nests are usually isolated in the woods, and always near a water source. 

The nest that Orv and Willa constructed is a few hundred yards away from the Great Miami River. 

“They'll come back to this nest until they're about 25-years-old. They're six-and-a-half years-old now. There's a good chance they came from the 2013 nest over at Eastwood. At least one of them, because eagles often return to an area they're familiar with, a natal area to look for territory of their own,” said Weller. 

Weller started an eagle watchers club, appropriately called Eastwood Eagle Watchers, after bald eagles showed up in Eastwood more than a decade ago. 

Weller's enthusiasm about eagles led him down a path to write a book.

He always wrote stories for his grandchildren, but at the urging of family and friends, he published his first book this fall: “Orv and Willa Find a Home.”

“I was hoping by writing the book I would encourage youngsters to feel some of the thrill that I feel every day when I come out and see the eagles fly over.”

The book takes a month of activity (Jan. 2018) and condenses it down to a single-day adventure.

The book also features facts and notes about bald eagles, so children can learn while they tag along with Orv and Willa.

Weller's book can be found on Amazon and several other online retailers. It will soon be available in the gift shop at Carillon Park. 

If you want to see the eagles at Carillon Park, there is an admission fee. Staff members will show you were to look, and there is also a sign to help with optimal viewing. 

Weller says if you travel along the Great Miami River to look up in the trees or on electrical towers, there is a good chance you might see Orv and Willa overlooking the city.