All three eagle chicks, the ones on live video, are looking good

The eagle triplets, the ones on live video streamed by the DNR, it looks like they all might make it. Bald Eagles don't often successfully raise three babies, according to Carrol Henderson, supervisor of the DNR's non-game department.

"Production of three chicks is probably an exception for most eagle pairs," he told me Wednesday. "But, it appears this pair now has several years experience, and is doing a good job of taking care of the chicks.

"Equally impressive," he said, "is that all three chicks are similar in size, no 'runts' after about two weeks, so I'm hopeful that all three will fledge." Often, dominant chicks will prevent a sibling from getting enough food. That chick will die.

"It's amazing how our eagle numbers continue to increase, and that their nests are so widely occurring in so many places," Henderson said, "that we formerly would not have considered eagle habitat — like in suburban backyards."

With that in mind, he said that people with house cat pets should be cautious about letting those animals outside. Cats are small enough for eagles to capture and kill.

"If owners value their cats, they shouldn't allow them to roam, or they could be the next prey items viewers see on the nest video feed," he said. He also warned about coyotes, ever more abundant in neighborhoods city or suburban. He called cats "fast-food for coyotes."

The American Bird Conservancy website explains a sensible "cats indoors" program. It's good for cats and good for the wildlife outdoor cats kill.

Find the eagle video stream at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/features/webcams/eaglecam/index.html