New DNR EagleCam unlikely for 2024, but potential for a pair of live feeds in 2025
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says for the first time in a decade there won't be an EagleCam for the next nesting season.
The nest that was the focus of a popular live video feed fell last April, killing a chick that was in the nest.
Lori Naumann with the DNR Non-Game program said the goal was to find a new nest by the end of this year.
"I was optimistic at the time that we would be able to get one up by this nesting season. But I'm not so optimistic now that that will happen, but we're definitely working on it,” Naumann said. “And yes, there will be another eagle cam. But I think for the first time in 10 years, we won't have one [next year].”
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Potential nest sites are selected, but Naumann says there are many details involved in site approval and installation of electricity and a camera.
"If all the stars were to align and everything were to fall into place and we were able to pull everything together by the end of December of this year, we might be able to pull it off, but it's not looking hopeful,” Naumann said.
Naumann says the agency wants to be careful to avoid any work on a camera site after the end of the year so they don't risk disturbing the nesting birds.
Naumann hopes there will be two EagleCams operational for the 2025 nesting season.
The previous eagle cam nest fell from its perch April 2. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport reported southeast winds gusting in excess of 30 mph around the time the nest fell that morning.
The DNR said that it’s likely that the wind, combined with heavy, wet snow from the April 1 blizzard, caused the branch supporting the nest to snap. The agency said the nest was more than 20 years old and estimated to weigh more than 2,000 pounds.