Decorah nest suffers second eaglet death this spring

It’s been a rough spring for the bald eagles in a Decorah-area nest that people around the world watch online via a nest camera.

A second eaglet died of unknown causes on Wednesday. Another eaglet of the three that hatched earlier this spring died two weeks ago.

The eaglet was in a “backup nest” north of Decorah at an undisclosed location. The Raptor Resource Project began monitoring and gathering video footage for online viewers of the nest this year after the main nest near the fish hatchery blew down in a storm but has since been rebuilt.

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The eaglet stopped breathing and died late in the afternoon. It could have eaten some contaminated food or poison, but Raptor Resource Center Executive Director John Howe said he is only speculating. Howe is consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is still determining if the eaglet can be retrieved from the nest and testing done.

The eaglet’s mother also appeared ill, displaying signs of distress and panting but made a recovery overnight and has been flying over the nest.

“It may be related to what happened with the eaglet,” Howe said. “We probably will never know until we get that second body but it’s unlikely. Real life is not like Quincy.”

The first eaglet’s death was reported two weeks ago. That eaglet was smaller and had developmental differences and may have suffered from a shortage of food, although the cause remains unknown.

Howe doesn’t suspect foul play because few know the location of the nest. Lead poisoning is also not suspected because of the behaviors of the eagles.

After the eaglet’s death Wednesday, Howe decided to shut down the video feed and it remained down Thursday morning.

He said some people have made an argument that they should be able to see the good and bad of the eagles’ lives, but he decided that they weren’t going to subject viewers to the suffering.

The eagles are recorded for science, not entertainment, Howe said.