Eaglet in Decorah North nest dies

One of three eagle chicks in the Decorah North nest died Thursday.

It was the youngest of the three and lowest in the pecking order, according to John Howe, executive director of the Raptor Resource Project, which provides round-the-clock streaming video of two Decorah-area nests.

Hypothermia and hunger probably played a more significant role than direct injury caused by one of its siblings, said Amy Ries, a member of the raptor group's board of directors.

'Pecking order surely impacted access to food and was definitely part of the picture,” she said.

In addition to the aggression and lack of food, the young bird was not brooded during the daytime, Ries said.

'That might have been OK in warm weather, since its natal down was coming in, but it didn't work well in the kind of cold, damp weather” in recent days, she said.

Many online viewers of the Decorah North nest camera - operated jointly by the Raptor Resource Project with Explore.org - had urged human intervention to save the harried chick, Howe said.

As painful as it may be to witness nature's occasional cruelty, Howe said the Raptor Resource Project has a long-standing policy of not intervening.

'Nature knows best. We let nature take its course,” he said.

The Decorah North eagles built their exceptionally large nest in fall 2013 in a white oak tree overlooking a stream on private property north of Decorah.

The original Decorah eagles nest near the Decorah fish hatchery south of town has been online for several years. The north nest was only recently outfitted with cameras and microphones and went online earlier this year.

Howe said the original Decorah eagles have their 24th and 25th chicks in the nest and have never lost a chick to sibling rivalry.

A third egg in that nest failed to hatch this spring.

With the eaglet's death Thursday, the north nest also has two healthy chicks, according to Howe.

The Decorah North nest can be viewed at raptorresource.org (clicking on bird cams at the top) or at explore.org/live-cams/player/decorah-eagles-north-nest