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It does look harsh. I was concerned just now when I looked in and the nest was empty for three minutes. An adult landed and picked at the nest a little, then flew away. About two minutes later an adult showed up and quickly snuggled down over the egg.
There was a dusting of snow over the egg, but no doubt the parent has to move once in a while just to keep warm.
Let's not forget that eagles have evolved over thousands (tens of thousands?) of years, in much harsher conditions... Pa Eagle is probably saying to Ma Eagle: "Aw, this is nothin'. The other day my gran-pappy was telling me about the Thanksgiving Storm of 1950. Now, there was a storm..."
I wouldn't worry too much about the snow, and the temps aren't that bad, finding food might be a problem though.
Winter Update #3 - February 12, 2010
The winter weather has been a major hindrance for the successful nesting of our eagle pair this year. With snow amounts approaching or exceeding 40 inches in the last week, this has served to overwhelm our birds and quite likely result in the first three eggs being non-viable.
Here's a history of the eggs laid thus far:
2/2 10:15pm--First egg laid.
2/6 2:12pm--Second egg laid.
2/9 6:00pm--Third egg laid.
Within hours of the second egg being laid, it became apparent that by their behavior that the eagles had lost their eggs in the deep snow that filled the nest.
A third egg was laid during the second storm on Feb. 9th, but the eagles have not been attentive to keeping the egg warm, and it seems likely that this clutch is no longer viable.
Time will tell if the eagles will lay more eggs. The odds are typically 50/50 for a second clutch. With this problem happening early this year, we are hoping that there will be additional eggs produced.
A little update. The parents are currently tending two eggs, keeping them warm and turning them at regular intervals. However, it is questionable if both eggs are viable due to the heavy snow earlier.
Hard to tell by the camera angle used this year, but it looks like the eaglet is about halfway to fledging size. Just saw one wing outstretched across part of the nest.
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