It’s egg-laying season for Massachusetts’ bald eagles, and people across the commonwealth are eager to tune in.

The once-threatened species have become reality TV stars over the last decade or so, thanks to cameras set up in trees in likely or established nesting spots, and the state’s Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has labeled the species “one of the best conservation success stories in Massachusetts.”

Live camera feeds that aviaries or even local birders have set up are just a quick web search away. On those feeds, viewers can watch as eagles build or refurbish their nests in December through February to prepare for this early spring season, when they will mate and lay their eggs.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warns that nest cameras should not be installed by just anyone, as there are federal prohibitions on disturbing the eagle population. Because of this, the agency recommends that a camera be installed only “by a qualified, knowledgeable individual who has eagle/raptor expertise and arborist or nest entry experience.”

The agency also recommends that those with cameras not broadcast the actual location of the nests so that people do not come in person and possibly disturb the birds.

Viewers should be forewarned that the government will not interfere or issue a permit to interfere “with the natural course of events at the eagle nest,” so viewers should know that not all babies — often called eaglets — survive in the nest, and even the adults could become wounded in territorial disputes with other birds.

While still listed by the state as a species of “special concern,” the population has seen major successes over the past several decades. In the 50s and 60s, according to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the population “suffered an alarming decline … due to the widespread use of the toxic pesticide DDT,” which contaminated its food sources.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also notes that the population was threatened due to habitat destruction and degradation as well as illegal hunting. DDT was federally banned in 1972, the Endangered Species Act was enacted the following year and, in 1982, the Audubon Society and Fisheries and Wildlife teamed up to launch the Massachusetts Eagle Restoration Project, which has successfully restored breeding populations in the state.

In 2018, there were 76 territorial pairs of bald eagles identified in the state, just six years after the birds were no longer listed as endangered in the state, according to Fisheries and Wildlife.