Bald eagle nest update: Intruding female takes over nest and male
The intruding, female bald eagle has taken over the nest at Codorus State Park near Hanover that is monitoring through a nestcam livestreaming through the Pennsylvania Game Commission website.
The bird, which some online observers have taken to calling Lucy and is believed to have injured and driven off the female that had been incubating two eggs, claimed the nest as well as the male half of the previous pair.
The new female and the male are now engaged in nest-building on top of the existing nest.
The previously laid eggs are far past being viable, although one is still jostled around the nest occasionally. Every now and then one of the eagles shows brief and useless incubating behavior towards that egg.
While some online observers continue to mourn the events that took place at the nest, the Game Commission posted this message with the webcam livestream on its website:
"While the Game Commission does not have a biologist on the ground in the area, it does appear that there may be another adult eagle around the nest. "Extra" bald eagles may be adults that have not yet paired up and claimed a territory; they may attempt to interfere with this pair in order to claim a mate or territory.
"With the population filling the available habitat in many parts of Pennsylvania, it would not be surprising to see some increase in nest failure as a result of these interferences and competition disrupting the care of nest and young.
"The big take-away lesson, bald eagles are well-adapted to Pennsylvania. They are well-adapted at selecting nest sites, building nests, and caring for eggs and young. This is one of the great lessons of the Game Commission's bald eagle recovery effort and its annual monitoring of active eagle nests. As bald eagles are filling available habitat in some parts of the state, there will be some conflicts between competing eagles.
"We have never in modern history been witness to such conflict events and we will all learn as we go. In most conceivable circumstances, nature will be allowed to take its course without intervention. Should an injured eagle end up grounded, the Game Commission could facilitate its transfer to a licensed rehabilitation facility."
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2018/03/bald_eagle_nest_update_intrudi.html#incart_most-read_
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