Famous Decorah eagles weathering loss of nest tree damaged by storm

The world-famous Decorah eagles are homeless after a severe storm early Saturday felled their nest tree.

'All three young eaglets are accounted for, and we have one adult eagle being seen regularly,” said Bob Anderson, director of the Raptor Resource Project, which operates a nest camera regularly viewed by millions.

Anderson said a strong thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and high wind snapped off the nest tree about 20 feet below the nest.

Anderson described the nest tree as 'now just a stump.”

The storm damaged many other trees in the area near the Decorah Fish Hatchery, he said.

Storms have plagued the eagles this year with one earlier this summer knocking the nest camera out of service.

This year's three eaglets hatched around April 1 and fledged in mid-June.

If this storm had struck before the eaglets fledged, they likely would have been killed, said Amy Ries, a member of the Raptor Resource Project's board of directors.

The loss of the nest won't make much difference in the eagles' daily lives, she said.

'At this stage in their lives, the family is not all that involved with the nest,” Ries said.

The big question now, she said, is whether they will return to their original nest or build a new one.

In October 2012, the adult eagles abandoned what appeared to be a sound nest and built the one destroyed in Saturday's storm only a few hundred yards from the original nest.

The female adult, known affectionately as 'Mom” to many Decorah eagle fans, has been spotted along with the eaglets, Ries said Saturday afternoon.

'Dad” had not been seen, but Ries said there is no reason to suspect that he has been harmed.

'These eagles know how to overcome adversity. They are going to be fine,” Ries said.