Waiting Continues at Berry College Bald Eagle Nest, The 9th Bald Eagle Nest Removed at Norfolk Botanical Garden, Decorah Bald Eagles Defend Nest, A Year of Blogging

Waiting and waiting for a hatch at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest. Tomorrow is day 35 for the second egg that was laid. I am surprised we haven't seen a hatch yet at this nest. There can be a delay in the hatching of the first egg if Mom delayed incubating the egg, to close the gap in hatch time. There is less sibling rivalry if the hatches occur closer together instead of one getting a 3 day head start (eggs are generally laid 3 days apart). I hold my breath and strain to see the eggs every time she stands up. And so do over 7,000 other people -- the number of people watching the cam at any one time these days. It's after 11:00PM and there's still almost 4,600 people watching a Bald Eagle sleep! Anyway, I could've sworn I saw a pip hole the other day. But I haven't seen anything like it again since then, so it must not have been. She's still gimpy on her left leg - something else to worry about. Here's our sleeping beauty:

There's more disheartening news for the Norfolk Bald Eagles. Eagle On Alliance reports that a 9th nest has been removed from the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Norfolk's Mayor Fraim is proving to be the most pig-headed, stubborn fool for continuing an effort that is obviously not working. There is now more eagle activity around NBG now that the Norfolk pair doesn't have a nest to defend. And there was a Bald Eagle struck and killed at the airport last month -- proving that his plan is not working. The Bald Eagle that was killed was not one of the Norfolk pair. By concentrating their wildlife mitigation efforts against one Bald Eagle pair at the neighboring property, they are leaving the flying public at the mercy of all the other wildlife that is free to come and go at the airport. Feel free to let Mayor Frain know what you think by sending him an email at mayor@norfolk.gov. And now Mayor Fraim, I'm talking to you: You made a bad call. If your ego is too big, you don't even have to admit you made a mistake. Just institute a mitigation plan on airport property and leave the eagles alone. Here's why you should:

• It is cruel to keep removing the nests built by the Norfolk pair.
• Irreparable harm is being done to the trees at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
• Revenue is down at the Norfolk Botanical Garden because people are allowing their membership to lapse and people have stopped going there over this issue.
• You are making yourself look worse the longer this continues. 
• Most importantly, you are endangering the flying public by not taking appropriate steps on airport property to mitigate the threat of wildlife at the airport.

The Decorah Bald Eagles just faced a threat. This is what a Dad Bald Eagle is supposed to do when Mom calls for help. (The Berry College Dad could learn a thing or two from the Decorah Dad...) Check out this video of the Decorah Bald Eagle Nest. (So nice that they have sound!) I don't know if he's trying to protect her at 3:05 or if he's just trying to make himself look bigger to whatever is posing a threat. I like to think that he was trying to protect her... It's nice to see them side-by-side facing a threat together.

It was a year ago today that I wrote my first blog post. Thanks to all who have found my blog and have supported this endeavor! This post will be number 232. There have been over 11,300 page views. Woot!