The Norfolk Botanical Gardens have hosted a live Eagle Cam for several years now. The cam allowed people literally all across the world to watch a pair of wild bald eagles raise their young without disturbing them. I fell in love with this pair of eagles about a year ago, as they were raising last years brood of three chicks. This year, the pair had another brood of three chicks, a testament to the parents themselves and the resources near by. This was the third year, at least, that this pair had a clutch of three eggs.
These were wild eagles. The parents weren't banded. The female was thought to be 15 years old. The male a few years younger. Each year researchers would raid the nest twice, once to band the chicks, measure them, weigh them and use that information to determine their sex, and a second time to place a tracking transmitter on the biggest, oldest chick, so they could continue their research and track their movements once they'd left the nest. A local tree service volunteered a climber to help first lower the chicks, then raise them back to the nest each time.
The parents and the chicks never receive names. They were simply "the female", "the male" and after banding "NV", "NX" and "NZ" for the chicks this year. But even without names, we grew to love them. That's why it hurt so much when the female was struck and killed last Tuesday by a plane at the international airport nearby. The area around the airport is prime hunting and fishing habitat. The Gardens themselves a protected space ideal for raising young eagles. The state of Virginia used the Cam to increase the knowledge of eagles in the wild and to raise awareness of eagles and their lives. The bird strike was an accident.
People poured in sympathy and sorrow to the moderated blog that the NBG runs. During nesting season, people can write in to ask questions. Teachers used the Cam as a teaching tool to help their students appreciate these majestic creatures. We all learned about the lives of the eagles. Little did we realize that they would also teach us about death in the wild, and the impact that we, as humans, have on the natural world.
The male continued to bring fish to the nest the next morning, and after waiting a short time for the female to return, started feeding the chicks himself, something he'd done before. But by mid-morning Tuesday, there was no need to bring any more fish.
Researchers and conservators moved quickly to do what was best for the chicks survival. Feeding three hungry, growing eaglets is a tough job for two capable parents, but it would soon become too much for the male. Without enough food the eaglets could become weak or sicken. Worse, they could begin to turn on each other, perhaps pushing the youngest, smallest chick from the nest. Instead, the researchers decided that the best thing was to remove the three chicks from the nest and raise them in captivity, isolated as much as possible from humans, so that when ready, they could be released into the wild to live as they would have had their mother survived.
What surprised me was how sad I felt for the eagles. I would check in on them once a day for a few minutes to see what was going on. I would try to figure out which parent was on the nest and was getting pretty good at it. The females are larger then the males by about 25%, as are all raptors. The chicks, at 5 weeks old, were just starting to get their permanent feathers, and in the last day or two had started picking at the fish their parents left behind while hunting, learning quickly to feed themselves. Now the nest looks empty and bare. Ironically, this female lost her mate to a plane strike in 2003. The next year she returned to the Gardens with a new mate, the male we love today. Tuesday afternoon after the chicks had reached their new home, the Cam showed the male sitting on the nest eating fish he'd brought for the chicks. It about broke my heart. I feel like I have lost one of my own...
They say he'll move on in a few days. That he will mourn and grieve his loss, but not the way we do. Remorse and sorrow are human traits we attribute to the animals we love. Still, I can't help feel for this male, who first lost his mate, and then lost his family. They say instinct will be his guide, but nature can be a harsh mistress, especially when humans are involved.
Hopefully, the male will find a new mate. The area has a number of other eagles. Maybe he'll bring her back to this nest in the Gardens as the female did with him. And if he does bring her back, we'll all be there next year, watching the eagles on the Cam, raising a new family in the skys over the Botanical Gardens, free and brave and wild.
For updates on the NBG eaglets visit:
Wildlife Center of Virginia - 2011 NGB Eaglets page
Norfolk Botanical Gardens - Eagle Cam (see the moderate chat on the right)
