'Eggciting!' First egg on much-watched EagleCam is always an attention-grabber

"We are all so proud. What a great day."

"Happy Belated Valentine's Day - we have an EGG!!!!!!"

"So eggciting!"

Eagle lovers rejoiced Wednesday at the news — and visual evidence — of the first egg in the metro-area nest under the watchful eye of the EagleCam. The project, in its 10th season and wildly popular online, is run by the Nongame Wildlife Program of the Department of Natural Resources.

The Facebook group Friends of Minnesota Nongame EagleCam has more than 13,000 members, some of whom have been guessing at egg-drop day for the eagle parents, called Beau and Nancy. Now it's happened, with more eggs possible in the days ahead.

"Congratulations everyone, we have our first egg of the 2023 season! We are so excited to share the happy news with you! The first egg came around 12:30 p.m. today. The pair has been preparing the bole with soft grasses and leaves for a few weeks. ... These were all signs that an egg was imminent," read an e-mail update from the DNR's EagleCam managers.

Beyond the prospect of more eggs, attention will turn to signs of eaglets.

"The count to hatching begins today," the EagleCam managers went on. The first egg could hatch after 34 to 39 days of incubation, a role that eagle parents share.

A new microphone added to the EagleCam on Jan. 20 has given the scene playing out in the nest, which is about 8 feet wide, an added vibrancy, they said. It has picked up recent territorial battles, common among the raptors.

But it is pictures that EagleCam followers are geeked about currently, no doubt heightening the interest in the weeks to come.

When the egg sat alone with no parents in sight, one commenter on Facebook got nervous.

Another replied: "Eggs are fine left for longer than we'd all like ... [the eagles] know what they're doing!"