On April 19, at 10:00 pm a sudden windstorm blew the big nest from the top of its sycamore tree home.
Sadly, none of the three eaglets survived the 90 ft. fall. They were four weeks old.
Fortunately, both adult eagles appear to be okay and have been seen flying and perching in the big nest tree.
Last fall, the eagle pair built a new nest about 15 ft. below the original nest and in the same tree. This new nest is in a very strong section of the tree and had minimal damage. We are hopeful the eagle pair will use this new nest to raise their young next season.
In the fall of 2003, the original eagle pair began to build their nest, and the first eggs were laid in the spring of 2004. In the fall of 2005, NCTC installed the first nest camera and online viewers were amazed to see intimate views of life in the nest. Supported by the Friends of NCTC, the Outdoor Channel, and dedicated citizen scientists the NCTC nest developed a large online following across North America and around the world, including many K-12 school classrooms.
We extend condolences to everyone who enjoyed daily visits to the NCTC Eaglecam and many thanks for all the kind words of support. We all look forward to continuing new seasons of life at the NCTC nest.
With the tragic loss of the main eagle's nest, two of the eagle cam cameras will need to be repositioned. There are also some limbs on the tree that should be trimmed or removed as they are dead snags and more likely to break in future high winds.
If you would like to donate to these efforts, you may do so! This link takes you directly to the Friends of NCTC donation site: https://friendsofthenctc.wildapricot.org/Donate
100% of funds donated for the Eagle Cam are used for maintenance, repair, and upgrades to the cameras and the "eagle tree" at NCTC.
Photo: Deb Stecyk, Paul Kolnik, and Dave Smaldone | NCTC Eaglecam.
