It’s a tragic end to the nesting season for one family of bald eagles.
A livestream of an eagle nest in Hanover captured a male and female bald eagle using the nest this season, after it had remained vacant last season.
The (Hanover) Evening Sun reported that the pair spent months renovating the nest before the female laid three eggs in March, the most ever seen in that nest’s livestream.
But it wasn’t long until another male bald eagle began harassing the couple, eventually driving away the father.
The mother eagle, dubbed “Hope” by some viewers on social media, managed to incubate and protect the eggs until they hatched in April.
But by the morning of April 20, two of the hatchlings appeared to be dead. The third was killed that evening by the intruding male eagle, who ate the remains of all three.
The nest, near Codorus State Park, has been broadcast via livestream since 2015. The video can be viewed here.
Competition among bald eagles has grown along with the population of the birds in the region, something which has been captured often by the livestream.
In 2018, the nest was fought over by two females, with one replacing the other, claiming both the nest and the male for a mate.
According to The Evening Sun, the last fledglings that successfully survived to leave the nest were in 2022.