Bald eagle’s egg breaks in nest, Minnesota photo shows. ‘We have never seen this’
A female bald eagle lost one of its eggs less than a week after a storm swept across Minnesota, blanketing the bird in snow.
One of its two eggs cracked in the nest, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Nongame Wildlife Program said in a Wednesday, March 1, Facebook post.
“In the 10 years we’ve been watching this nest, we have never seen this occur,” the agency said.
It’s unclear how the egg cracked.
This bald eagle laid its first egg this year on Feb. 15, according to the DNR. It laid another egg on Feb. 18.
Wildlife officials are still optimistic about the egg that’s intact.
“An eagle nest is considered successful if 50% of the chicks make it to fledging, so one ray of positivity during this time is that the second egg has a much higher chance of surviving now,” officials said.
Eagle has been brooding in nest for years
The female bald eagle has been laying eggs in this nest for four years, the agency said.
The eagle and its mate began preparing the nest with soft grasses and leaves a few weeks before the first egg was laid, officials said.
Once an egg was laid, the male eagle brought food to the nest and helped incubate it, the agency said.
“The mate is never far away, keeping a watchful eye over the nest for intruders or predators,” the agency said.
When a storm rolled in the area last week, the bald eagle was seen covered in snow on Feb. 23, which actually helped keep the eggs insulated, the agency said.
The eagles can be checked on anytime on the agency’s EagleCam.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Bald eagle’s egg breaks in nest, Minnesota photo shows. ‘We have never seen this’."
