The Wonders of Nature

Over the past several months I have been watching web cams and live streams from two separate locations. One is the Decorah Eagles site and the other the Norfolk Botanical Gardens site. The latter is now being broadcast by the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

In both instances, three eggs were laid and three hatched.

These sites are amazing. We had the opportunity to watch two sets of adult eagles lay eggs, tend to the nest and the eggs, and then watched the hatch. All I can say is awesome.

First the Decorah eagles. The diligence of the parents is absolutely phenomenal. I am sure there are photos and possibly a few videos of some of the rigors Iowa weather brings. On one occasion the nest was filled with snow. Momma eagle kept adjusting her body to shelter the eaglets from the extreme conditions. The babies have left the nest. Not totally. They are in the process of fledging and it is such a joy to watch them winger-cize and to hop from nearby branches. This morning I had the joy to watch one take flight. It hopped off the branch and took flight, a short fly around and back to the branch. In just a short few days they will all fledge and for the most part be gone from the nest. For about three months after fledge the eaglets, as well as the parents, will return to the nest periodically. Mainly to feed as their hunting skills need to be honed. Momma and papa eagle will continue to bring food. Eventually, they'll be gone, in hopes that the parents return once again to the nest in the fall to start yet another family.

The link to the Decorah Eagles is here: .

Sadly the Norfolk eagles weren't quite so lucky. On April 26th, the mother eagle was out hunting and was hit by a US Airways commuter plane as it attempted to land at the regional airport. A joint decision was made by the Virginia Wildlife personnel and the Norfolk Botanical Gardens staff to move the eaglets to the Wildlife Center of Virginia (WCV).

The decision was based on a single parents ability to provide enough food for the developing eaglets. So on April 27th the eaglets were moved. The WCV had to construct a new enclosure to house the eaglets. And have since added a flight pen to the enclosure. The Norfolk eagles are doing fine and seem to be doing all the things they need to do to be released into the wild in late August.

It surely has been an education watching these babies develop. Being able to observe all they go through is just wonderful. The way the parents tend to them and watch over them. The WCV staff are being very careful so as not to allow the eaglets to form bonds or to become dependent upon human intervention.

If you have never experienced an eagle encounter, I encourage you to visit the sites. Looking forward to Fall and hopefully two new families of eagles.

The Norfolk Botanical Gardens eagles link: .

Enjoy.