Bob CollinsThere’ll be no cute eagle chicks to watch on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources eagle cam this year. Blame the father.
There’s nothing to see here but broken eagle dreams.
The female in the nest has raised 10 chicks in the last six years, the DNR says. But it went for a younger mate this year. Oh, so much metaphor!
This year, the female’s new mate appears to have been a first-time nester, learning from the female how to place sticks, share food and incubate the eggs.
Duties normally shared by both birds fell disproportionately to the female, who was unable to feed herself, incubate the eggs and deal with harsh weather on her own.
While it’s disappointing that we won’t have eaglets to follow this year, the experience of watching and learning from these eagles on camera has still been phenomenal, and we cannot thank you enough for your donations in support of this, and all other Nongame Wildlife efforts.
As long as the resident eagle pair and other birds and critters continue to visit the nest, we will leave the camera on and watch their behavior and appreciate this incredible gift of nature.
One egg survived the father’s inattention, City Pages says.
Then a 3-year-old juvenile eagle came, cracked it open, and ate it.
There’s nothing cute in Eagleville.
