April 6, 2024
It was an interesting week at the Trempealeau nest. Mr. T disappeared some time between March 27 and April 3rd, TE1's hatch date. Mrs. T brooded and fed herself. Did she hunt alone or were there food transfers off the nest? We don't. On April 6, a male eagle returned to the nest and began providing fish (usually) and taking turns at brooding (somewhat). We believe this is Mr. T. given Mrs. T's response: she allowed him into the nest, which based on everything we know about eagles, she would not have done with a strange male. If so, Mr. T. was most likely a first-time father. Reluctance to participate in eaglet care has been recorded in first-time bald eagle males at other nests, including unwillingness to incubate and/or brood, reluctance to feed, and difficulty sharing food.
We're going to continue to call this eagle Mr. T unless John's recorded footage can prove otherwise.