QUECHEE — A pair of bald eagles nesting at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science that have become stars of two live cams launched by the nonprofit organization have successfully hatched an eaglet.
V-2, as Windsor and Dewey’s new addition is known, officially came into the world last Friday.
VINS staff first noticed an egg in the pair’s nest on St. Patrick’s Day, said Alden Smith, executive director of the Quechee-based nonprofit organization.
In the days since, Windsor, the female eagle, and Dewey, the male, have kept a careful eye on their new offspring while also taking turns to hunt, including grabbing fish from the nearby Ottauquechee River.
“Already we’re seeing rapid growth,” Smith said in a Tuesday phone interview. “You can tell the eaglet is getting bigger before our very eyes.”
Staff and viewers have affectionately referred to V-2 as a “fluff ball” because of its appearance.
If everything goes according to plan, during the next six to eight weeks, the eaglet will explore the nest and continue to grow. As it gets bigger — and more confident — it will begin to perch on the sides of the nest to strengthen its feet and flap its wings to build strength.
“We would expect late July, early August to see that first flight,” Smith said. “It depends on a lot of care from its parents and also a lot of luck.”
Once the eaglet leaves the nest, there is a chance it will return. Windsor and Dewey’s first eaglet, which hatched last summer, did just that for a month or so, stopping in to see its parents for feedings. Staff made the decision not to name the eaglet; V-2 is a designation that indicates it is the second known eaglet the pair have hatched on the nest.
“I think part of what’s different about the eaglet, when it leaves (the nest) there’s not going to be any way for us to know if the eaglet or a juvenile that comes back is that particular bird,” Smith said, adding that there is no way for staff to know if the eaglet is male or female. Most eagles look the same the first few years of their lives and it is only when they get older that females begin to outgrow the males.
He also cautioned that as attached as staff and viewers have become to the trio, the birds are wild creatures and everything might not go as planned.
“It’s always possible that it doesn’t have a storybook ending,” Smith said. “Ethically it’s really our responsibility to witness and honor their lives, but we’re highly unlikely to send tree climbers up to rescue a bird because of the damage that can be done to the eagles in that situation.”
Human disturbances can cause bald eagles to abandon their nest for a period of time, which puts eaglets at risk, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
When Windsor and Dewey first nested at VINS last year visitors could observe the trio from the organization’s Forest Canopy Walk and could get a closer look using scopes.
Since eagles are known to return to a successful nesting site year after year, VINS staff decided to set up two live cams to track the pair if they did return.
In mid-February, the two eagles came back and set up a nest. A few weeks later in early March, the live cams went public.
Prior to the eagle cams, VINS had 600 to 800 site visits a day, marketing director Emily Adler Boren wrote in an email.
Since the cams started, that has climbed to around 7,500 per day.
Independent of VINS, viewers have created a Facebook group called “Friends of VINS Live Eagle Cam. (Vermont Institute of Natural Science)” where they share screenshots, video clips from the cams and observations. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had more than 2,600 members.
“It’s been fascinating to watch and really interesting to watch the community grow around it,” Smith said in a Tuesday phone interview. “Every time we see Windsor or Dewey fly over us, it kind of feels like we’re seeing a celebrity.”
This Friday at 12:30 p.m. VINS will host an online talk where people can ask questions and learn more about Dewey, Windsor and V-2. Those interested in attending can register at vinsweb.org/event/lunch-learn.
