It's That Time of Year

I’m thinking about eagles, because in this area January is when the cycle of mating and nesting begins. The rule of thumb is mating near Valentine’s Day, hatching by Easter, and fledging by Father’s Day. If you want to follow the process, you can watch on Xcel's cam, although last year the eaglets near Platteville, Colorado, apparently drowned in an extreme rainstorm. (The camera still follows a pair of nesting eagles in Iowa, and also has cams focused on other birds of prey—Kestrels, Great-horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, and Osprey.)

Last year, I watched a nest where two hatchlings became one, the second probably a victim of siblicide, in which the stronger hatchling devours the weaker. This can happen when food is inadequate. The eagles I watch live primarily on fish from the nearby Poudre River, rodents from the few remaining pastures, and waterfowl that swim in a nearby lake.

Despite the freak rainstorm that killed the hatchlings near Platteville, last summer was a drought year, and the land couldn’t support abundance. Flora withered by mid-April, and rumors abounded about the river running dry. The main pond in a nearby natural area lacked sufficient moisture to attract wading birds that had pecked at the mud or herons that had nested by the shore in previous years. Fields turned sere. The conditions led to fewer prey—not as many waterfowl, rodents, or fish. Local raptors competed for less food, a situation akin to going to the grocery store for bread, and seeing someone grab the last loaf.

My only consolation was that the warm weather that prompted trees to leaf out prematurely provided a sheltering canopy in the Cottonwood that protected the eagles from the ridiculous heat that broke or came close to breaking records on a daily basis.