A bald eagle refused to move and got buried under snow — with only its head poking out —
A bald eagle refused to move and got buried under snow — with only its head poking out — to protect its eggs during a storm, video shows
A livestream of an eagle nest captured one of the birds nearly buried in snow on Thursday morning.
The eagle, who was incubating its recently laid eggs, rode out a heavy snowstorm from the nest.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said snow can actually provide extra insulation.
A bald eagle in Minnesota was spotted partially buried under a mound of snow, with only its head poking out, as it remained in its nest and waited out a storm in order to keep its eggs warm.
The eagle was captured on the EagleCam managed by Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources, which is currently livestreaming the nest 24/7 as the pair of birds incubate their eggs. The eagles welcomed their first egg of the season on February 15, followed by another on February 18, according to the DNR.
The male and female have been taking turns incubating the eggs, while the male also provides food and never strays too far from the nest, keeping a lookout for potential threats or predators.
The eagles were also apparently aware that a storm was coming, according to the DNR, which said Tuesday: "Both of the eagles have delivered more nesting material in anticipation of the coming snow storm."
Much of Minnesota got more than a foot of snow this week, and viewers who tuned into the EagleCam on Thursday morning found one of the birds covered in snow, an EagleCam clip shared by local WKYC showed. It stayed in that position for a while before standing up, shaking the snow off its feathers, making some adjustments to the nest, and eventually settling back in. The eagle's partner returned to the nest a short while later and took over incubation duties.
Fans of the EagleCam left supportive comments on DNR's Facebook page. "That is ONE DETERMINED parent," one commenter wrote on a photo of the eagle covered in snow. Another person added: "Bet her kids won't ever appreciate it."
Perhaps un-intuitively, the blanket of snow could help keep the eggs warmer.
"The snow will provide insulation for the eggs as they incubate," the DNR said in an update on Tuesday ahead of the storm. "The eggs are now nestled further down in the soft fur, feathers, leaves and grasses tucked in around them."
The DNR said the female may still lay a third egg, noting eagles typically lay each egg about two to three days apart. The EagleCam, which has been running for ten years, will capture it all. According to the DNR: "In 34 to 39 days, there just might be fuzzy-headed chicks to watch!"
MMW
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