DECORAH, Iowa - Two eaglets that hatched barely a week ago in the Decorah North nest died Friday.
The Raptor Resource Project says the eaglets were killed by a disease carried by blackflies that overwhelms the immune systems of young birds, coupled with the extreme heat and humidity.
Eaglet DN7 hatched on May 18th, and DN8 hatched on May 20th. The late hatches came at the same time as insect hatches and record heat.
Both parents did their best to protect the eaglets from the elements. Even after the eaglets were dead, the father eagle was seen trying to shelter their bodies from the rain (VIDEO below).
In the other Decorah Eagle nest, the three eaglets left fatherless earlier this spring are nearly as big as their mother. The Raptor Resource Project says the three are still several weeks away from being fully developed for flying.
PHOTOS and original posts below