Minnesota Installs New Eagle Camera After Winds Destroyed Previous Livestream

Eagle lovers around the world were crushed when the nest of a Minnesota pair and their chick collapsed on live video last year.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Eagle lovers around the world who were crushed by the live-streamed collapse of a nest housing two birds and their chick will get another viewing opportunity when a new eagle camera goes live on Thursday.

The new camera, operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is in a different location and will show a different nesting pair, the agency announced Tuesday. But the DNR will also keep its old EagleCam running because the old pair built a new nest about a half-mile away and still visit their old territory. They’ve been seen there as recently as Friday.

The old camera had viewers in 50 states and around 160 countries, in homes, classrooms and nursing homes, according to Lori Naumann, a spokesperson for the DNR’s Nongame Wildlife Program, which runs the cameras. The old nest was home to a pair that viewers unofficially nicknamed “Nancy and Beau” until it collapsed during a heavy snowstorm on April 2, 2023. The female bird flew off as a branch supporting the 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) nest, which was over 20 years old, gave way. The chick was later found dead.

There was an outpouring of grief in popular Facebook groups that followed the pair, and members of those groups expressed excitement at the news Tuesday.

Naumann told reporters they often had thousands of viewers at any given time before the nest collapse, especially during the pandemic as homebound viewers went online to get their nature fixes. Minnesota has the largest eagle population in the lower 48 states, building nests even in urban areas.