It just wasn't their year

A hard loss for the local Eagle Community

Early this morning, at 2:48 am, the last egg burst - I didn't see it, nor do I want to watch it. It breaks my heart. 

I know nature can be cruel - but still...

The experts say,  It will take Liberty and Guardian a moment to process what has happened -  that they no longer have an egg to incubate. Liberty stayed in the nest for almost 10 hours in the pouring rain after the egg burst.  From the past, the eagles seem to move on from these tragedies & setbacks very quickly.

They don't know why the egg burst like that at 2:48 am this morning -  without sending the egg to a Wildlife Lab in Sacramento, we will never know exactly what happened to it. Liberty consumed the remains of the egg, which is normal behavior for eagles, so there isn't much left besides some eggshell at this point.

It is highly unlikely that a 2nd clutch would happen this season due to the short breeding season for bald eagles. But sometimes after losing a clutch an adult eagle pair will lay a second, replacement, or “double” clutch. That is still extremely rare and with the winter we have had - I doubt that will happen. 

As I have mentioned before, this winter, which is our rainy season here in California has been unusual - up and down the state, we've had a tornado, bomb cyclones, and atmospheric rivers - winds clocking at close to 100 mph, snow and more snow in low elevation areas. It's been crazy. Not just the weather, but Liberty and Guardian were constantly being harassed by younger adolescent eagles for territory - no doubt their own from previous years.  

Another storm has moved in - very cold. It did snow in Shasta Lake City - but not here. We're looking at more rain with maybe a day let up and then on to the next storm. 

It's historic. 

The old ancient lake (Lake Tulare) in the southern San Joaquin Valley is reemerging once again. It dried up in the late 1800s - was once the biggest lake west of the Great Lakes. Yes, even bigger than the Great Salt Lake. Back in 1879, the lake was 690 sq mi, and its size fluctuated due to varying levels of rainfall and snowfall. 

It's all very interesting to those like me who are California History Aficionados. I'd love to drive down and get some photos - but for right now it is probably dangerous and might be for a few months as the snows melt. The farmland down there is flooded. 

Well, that is all that I have for you today - Be well. 

Debby