MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Eagle lovers around the world were crushed by the livestream nest collapse It houses two birds and their chick will get another viewing opportunity when a new eagle camera goes live Thursday.
The new camera, operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is in a different location and will show a different nesting pair, the agency announced Tuesday. But the DNR will also keep its old EagleCam running, because the old pair has built a new nest about a half-mile away and is still visiting their old territory. They were only seen there on Friday.
The old camera had viewers in 50 states and about 160 countries, in homes, classrooms and nursing homes, said Lori Naumann, a spokesperson for the DNR. Nongame Wildlife Program, who controls the cameras. The old nest was home to a couple unofficially dubbed “Nancy and Beau” by viewers until it collapsed during a heavy snowstorm on April 2, 2023. The female bird flew away like a branch supporting the 2,000-pound nest. who was more than 20 years old, succumbed. The chick was later found dead.
There was an outpouring of grief in the popular Facebook groups that followed the couple, and members of those groups expressed excitement about the news on Tuesday.
Naumann told reporters they often had thousands of viewers at a time before the nest collapsed, especially during the pandemic, when homebound viewers went online to get their nature fixes. Minnesota has the largest eagle population in the lower 48 states, building nests even in urban areas.
The pair at the new, undisclosed location nested there for at least four years and have raised several broods of eagles, Naumann said. Officials don’t know exactly how long the nest has been there or how many chicks the parents have hatched because they haven’t monitored them closely yet, she said.
Both cameras will go live on Thursday around 6am CST on the DNR website and that of the agency YouTube channel.
There isn’t much activity at the nest right now, but that will change, Naumann said.
“It’s not really breeding season right now,” she said. “We expect them to bring new branches and new nesting material into the nest in the coming months, when their courtship behavior will increase. And when that happens, they actively build the nest together, demonstrating their commitment to each other and their worthiness to be a partner.”
The female is expected to lay two or three eggs sometime around February, she said, and they will take about 35 days to hatch. Both adults usually care for their chicks, constantly feeding them dead fish to satisfy their enormous appetites.
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As for “Nancy and Beau” — the DNR does not say which animals it is tracking — it was not feasible to connect power and install a camera at their new nest, where they successfully raised two chicks last season. That’s why the agency started an extensive search before settling on the new, more accessible location with a healthy tree. They installed the camera in early October at a total cost of about $5,000. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy provided the aerial platform and other services to set up the new camera at no charge, just like the original.
The eagles serve as ambassadors for the Nongame Wildlife Program, which is supported by direct donations and a voluntary state income tax return check. It funds a range of wildlife projects across the state to benefit struggling species. The cameras go live Thursday to promote a statewide charity event, although as a government agency the DNR is not an official participant.