February 26, 2013 Update

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Two eggs remain.  If you were watching yesterday, you probably noticed a crack in one of the eagle eggs, then later, some shell remnants. We suspect that when the egg cracked, the contents just seeped out.  It is likely that the contents of the egg did not hold a developed embryo.  After the liquid contents of the egg seeped out, the egg shell essentially disintegrated.  

In the wild, there are many, many more eggs layed than will ever reach the hatching stage, let alone maturity.  Predators, bad weather conditions and inexperienced parents all play a role in the developing eggs and the raising of young.  Because of these known and expected threats, birds lay many more eggs than will ever become adult birds.  We know that the population of most birds can sustain some nest failures, and bald eagles are no exception.  We have the highest population of eagles in the lower 48 states, so incubating and raising young eagles in Minnesota is not impossible! 

We are still learning a lot of valuable information from this pair of eagles.  We did get the band of one of the birds read yesterday - thank you to all who sent that information in!  As soon as we have data back from that band, we will share the history with all of you.  We also have learned what a tremendous effort these birds put into incubating eggs and how difficult and calculated the whole process can be.  And finally, we are learning about their feeding and sleeping habits, how the parents share responsibilities and resources and just how tough our eagles are! 

Thank you all so much for your support and positive comments about the nest camera.  These positive comments and all of the stories about how people are learning from and enjoying this camera make this a very valuable tool.  This is a testimony about how your contributions to the Nongame Wildlife checkoff are so very valuable and appreciated.  Thank you!