Happy Mother's Day to our readers and their families.

Here is an extraordinary example of motherhood the hard way, from the animal kingdom a little over two months ago --- a bald eagle keeping a nest with two eggs warm, in spite of horrific quantities of snowfall. These are Pennsylvania eagles, but they could as easily be Minnesota bald eagles, given how fortunate our state is to have a large bald eagle population.

This video seemed particularly appropriate, given the snow to the west of us in SoDak, and the forecast for later today and tomorrow of snow in some parts of Minnesota as well. (Don't put away those scarves and mittens quite yet moms!)



And here is the link to the eagle cam, live, if you would like to see how events have turned out since the snow video.

And a follow up story on the mom and dad eagles, and their now hatched young eaglets, a story that should ring true to every mom who has spent years of her life cleaning up.............stuff (some of it especially not nice). The story goes a long way towards explaining why the live feed looks a lot less clear than the snow footage.
 
A week and a half later, the camera view is better, but still not as clear as before.

From the Evening Sun:

Bullseye! Bald eagle cam nailed by waste, Game Commission says

By Anthony J. Machcinski

For months, millions of viewers across the world have been glued to the eagle cam located next to a nest in Codorus State Park near Hanover, watching the eaglets every moving including, yes, relieving themselves in the nest.
There's been a few close calls but the eaglets have missed the camera entirely.
They didn't miss this morning.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed in a tweet this morning that the camera "was hit by eagle waste."

This is a screenshot of the eagle cam, which has been obscured by eagle waste on Thursday. (PA Game Commission)

A shot of the eaglets in the bald eagle nest at Codorus State Park via the live feed provided by the PA Game Commission. (Courtesy of PA Game Commission Eagle Cam)

For now, the camera remains on, but the view of the eagles is hazy at best. Officials from the Game Commission say they hope that a future rain storm will help clean the camera and clear the image.
For once, it's a good thing. Rain is expected Thursday and Friday.
And if you were wondering, the Game Commission will not be climbing up there to clean the camera.
"The eagle camera will remain in place until after the eaglets fledge in late June or early July," the Game Commission wrote on Facebook. "At that time, it will be taken down for maintenance."