All of your support gladly accepted and appreciated! You all are the best!!
Keep reminding myself that nature is in charge. I can only observe and tuck away tightly in my heart, those I have loved and lost. SUMR said Ustream nest cam will remain up until they transfer the other cams to a new stream. It's offline when I have checked (current stream has trouble connecting), but SUMR said they have seen Hope briefly.
Now for my anger stage of the grieving process...
After observing this pair since January, I conclude: 1)Hope is a good mother and 2) Valor is a lax father and mate. He did sit on the eggs, but many times he would come to relieve Hope and after she left, he would fly off. Did Hope think he was there? When the eggs hatched, the only food he brought to the nest he consumed himself on a branch and always tried to eat the food Hope brought for herself and eaglets. He never sat on the eaglets and fed the remaining eaglet once, only stayed with the remaining baby once while Hope was gone - and ate the rest of the fish Hope brought while he was there. When Hope was on the eggs and eaglets, he would come and 'bump' Hope until she got up and flew away, then flew away himself! After they hatched, she would come right back. The night before the remaining eaglet was lost, Hope would not budge off the nest.
Being 'sheltered' (lol) watching only Decorah last year and from reading about eagles, all this behavior shocked me. I don't know how Hope ever would have raised the eaglets herself and that's what she was doing plus taking care of her third child --> Valor. Okay, enough, "turn the page" as my dad would say!!
Been watching other nests. Hoping this year turns around and all the hatches fledge successfully! So many cams to watch!! :)SUMR hopes to have all their cams back up by weeks end, so peregrine cam will be back and a new Pelican Island cam... the white pelicans are already there!
Hugs to all of you!!
