Minnesota’s latest reality TV stars aren’t your typical celebrities — they’re a pair of bald eagles, and their “show” is the EagleCam livestream operated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This live feed, available on the DNR’s website and YouTube channel, has been a fan favorite for over a decade, giving viewers an up-close look at eagle pairs raising their chicks.
Lori Naumann, spokesperson for the DNR’s Nongame Wildlife Program, explains the appeal: “Getting an intimate view of them raising their chicks has just been such a popular thing. Their chicks are so ugly, they’re cute.”
During the pandemic, the livestream became even more popular, attracting viewers from all 50 states and 160 countries worldwide.
This year’s feed features a new eagle pair in a different location after the original nest collapsed due to an April 2023 storm. The former eagle couple, unofficially named “Nancy and Beau,” had been captured on camera in all their parental moments, including the heartbreaking death of one chick. After the collapse, Nancy and Beau built a new nest about half a mile south, but it was too difficult to wire the new location for a livestream, so the DNR switched to a different pair of eagles.
Though this new eagle pair doesn’t have names yet, they face a challenging journey ahead. “The survival rate of bald eagle chicks is about 50%. If a pair can actually feed and raise those chicks to fledging, meaning they can fly and leave the nest, they’re considered good parents,” says Naumann.
In addition to raising their own chicks, last year, this pair also fostered two rehabilitated chicks from the University of Minnesota. All five birds successfully learned to fly and hunt.
Naumann looks forward to exciting moments in the coming months, especially as the eagles start their courtship behaviors — bringing in sticks and building up the nest. She expects eaglets to hatch in February, and viewers can look forward to watching the parents bring food to their growing family.
“The best part of the livestream?” Naumann says. “People love watching the eagles bring the babies food in the morning.”