I'm sorry to say that things are starting to look kind of grim for a successful hatch for our bald eagle webcam subjects. The Minnesota DNR sums up the situation:
Well, it was a long, long weekend. The eagle pair has been diligently tending to and sitting on these eggs for at least 40 days now. While we haven't given up hope that one will hatch, we are becoming ever more humbled by our limited knowledge of these majestic creatures. Keep in mind that this is one of the first cameras ever placed in an eagle's nest. We are learning right along with all of you while we patiently watch. What the eagles will do, how long they will sit, when they will realize that their eggs are not fertile are all mysteries that we just cannot answer. This is the nature of observational research; watch, wait, record. This is also the value of this camera. We can observe without harming or disturbing the birds. The knowledge that we gain from this observation will help us make informed decisions about bald eagle management, research and protection. We just don't know how long the pair will tend to these eggs before they will abandon them. Will they kick them out of the nest? Will a predator come and eat the eggs? Will they just abandon and not come back? We just don't know, and again, we will not intervene.
Originally they cited a 35-day incubation period. I guess it's possible that because the eggs were laid so early they need more time in the oven so to speak, but as the days tick off now without a hatch it's more and more likely that this pair of eagles will be unsuccessful this year. We'll see what happens.
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