Bald Eagle Trio Is Raising Their Babies As A Team

Mar 26, 2019 by apost team

Something out of the ordinary is happening in the state of Illinois. Two male bald eagles joined a female eagle in her nest to help her keep her eggs warm.

Bald eagles are known to be both monogamous and territorial. So it is unusual to see what is going on in the nest at the National Wildlife Refuge at the Upper Mississippi River. And it is not the first time this trio has had eaglets together.

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A blogger for Bird Watcher's Digest says the Eagles share the responsibilities that must be fulfilled during the incubation period. There have been three incubation periods so far this year and there were more before 2019. 

The three eagles first came together in 2017. But the two males, named Valor 1 and Valor 2 by a non-profit organization that broadcasts a live stream of the activities in the nest, have been together since 2013. The Eagles began their relationship as rivals and Valor 2 tried to oust Valor 1 from the nest. However, the older eagle refused to leave.

A female, Hope, first arrived at the nest in 2014. She, along with both Valors, raised two young eagles that year. Hope was also seen mating with both Valors. The three eagles were seen again the next year working together to care for the nest.

"The three parents share incubation responsibilities for the eggs ... Like their relationship, their history is complicated," Bird Watcher's Digest's blog, Out There With The Birds wrote.

Then, in 2017 the trio parented three eaglets. Though the arrangement between Hope and the two Valors is out of the ordinary, it seems to work well for the three eagles.

A group of unknown eagles attacked the nest in 2017. Hope was so afraid she left the nest and did not return.

The two male eagles raised the two eaglets who remained in the nest without the help of their mother. An unknown female came to the nest in late 2017 and hatched a female eaglet that was named Starr. 

Starr remained at the nest and made a home with Valor 1 and Valor 2. This is the female that is now incubating three eggs with the two Valors. It is uncertain whether the situation between the two Valors is a result of friendship and loyalty or the knowledge the nest is safer with two male eagles than it would be with one. 

In any event, Valor one and Valor two will soon be fathers once again.

What did you think about the relationship between Valor 1, Valor 2, and the two women in their lives? Do you think there is anything we can learn from their behavior? Pass this article and video on to friends. It will give them something interesting to contemplate.