Decorah bald eagles lay first egg of 2014

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The Decorah bald eagle pair that nests near the Trout Hatchery have their first egg of the season.

Raptor Resource Project reports the "Eggsciting News" that the mother eagle laid egg #18 at 4:55 p.m.  Sunday.  The egg has been dubbed "D18," since that is the numbering system that has been used for previous baby eagles.

Raptor Resource Project Director Bob Anderson says, "If past years are a guide, we can expect two more eggs to be laid over the next seven or eight days. Both eagles will take turns incubating the eggs, which should begin hatching 35-39 days after the first egg was laid."
 
To date, over 280 million people have followed the eagle family from eggs to fledgling birds since 2011, watching every aspect of life in a wild nest.

During that time Raptor Resource has also been able to use satellite technology to continuously follow a young bald eagle who fledged in 2011. "D1" has logged well over 2,000 miles, flying from northeast Iowa to Hudson's Bay twice.

The Decorah bald eagles can be watched live at http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles. The current camera set-up includes a remotely operated PTZ camera, a fixed infra-red cam for night viewing, and audio. Moderated chat is available on ustream from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Central Standard Time, seven days a week.

Raptor Resource also has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Raptor-Resource-Project/103786266324668

Video of the mother and the egg is posted above.