Eagle Update!

November 20, 2012-

A quick update on the Decorah eagle pair. We still don't know why (and probably never will) the eagles are building a second nest, called an 'alternate nest' , or if they are going to use that nest this year, but what we do know is that it isn't uncommon for eagles to build alternate nests. Take for instance, the eagle nest in Lino Lakes, Michigan, where and eagle pair had what appeared to be a perfectly good and useable nest, but built an alternate nest in the exact same tree! See below for a photo:

  The first nest is the lower nest on the left, and the alternate nest is the upper nest on the right. Why an eagle pair would do this is a mystery. Strange, to put it mildly. We will probably never now why they do things like this, though.

(Photo by Jim Womeldorf)

   Above is a sample of what the new alternate nest looks like so far. Hopefully they will use the old nest one more year so that we can watch them, but all we can do is hope.  Check out the moderated discussion on the eagle cam page for some photos and info, and enjoy the occasional visits to the nest by the eagle pair (if your lucky enough to see them drop by)! Also, a whole new set of eagle cam FAQ's are available on the cam page, so be sure to check that out, too.