Decorah eagle lays third egg

A third egg is visible in the famous Decorah eagles' nest.

According to Raptor Resource Project researcher Bob Anderson, the eagle laid the egg at around 8 p.m. Friday.

"There was a collective 'Ooh and aah' throughout the world," Anderson said of the many thousands of people watching the live stream last night.

Web traffic for the eagles spiked at about 8:10 p.m. Friday, Anderson said.

The northeast Iowa eagle family gained international attention after the Raptor Resource Project set up an Internet camera for the live stream. Millions of people have viewed the site from computer screens all over the world.

Anderson said this is the fourth year this eagle has laid three eggs. Her first year, she laid two. He estimated that roughly 10 percent of eagles lay three eggs per year, whereas most lay one or two.

"It's not rare [to lay three]," he said. "But not that common."

Anderson said he expects viewership to grow as the eggs hatch.

"Tens of thousands of people have taken ownership and they're now their eagles," he said.