National Eagle Center: Soar With The Eagles (Spring Hatch) – Wabasha, MN

Mar 26, 2023 | events/locations

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

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National Eagle Center: Soar With The Eagles Returns This Spring! Featuring World Bird Sanctuary. After a short hiatus, the fan-favorite SOAR with the Eagles is back at the National Eagle Center in a new, exciting format! SOAR will take place throughout the year with seasonal events in the spring, summer, and fall and it all starts with our ‘Spring Hatch’ March 31 – April 2. Explore the amazing world of eagles and raptors with flying bird shows, exhibits, activities, and brand-new festival experiences all weekend long!

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Eaglets require a lot of energy (food) because they grow extremely fast! When they first hatch, they are the size of fluffy little baseballs, but in just six short weeks they look completely different, now mottled brown in color and standing about a foot and a half tall. Then, they will be full grown standing roughly two feet tall (the same size as their parents) in just 12 weeks, and fledge between 12 and 15 weeks! You can imagine that as an eagle parent, your days are completely devoted to bringing more and more food back to the nest, which is why location is so important for nest placement. You build a nest near an abundant food source like a river or lake.

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In total, nesting season, from first courtship rituals and building up the nest to the young fledging and the parents leaving them on their own, takes less than half the year. It is a hectic schedule for sure, but that is how eagles do it. Our region’s earliest nests have already been feeding the eaglets for a few weeks, while the latest may just now be laying eggs, but you can expect that nesting season will be fully wrapped up by mid-August in the Upper Mississippi River valley. Until then, there is plenty for the eagles to do and lots for us humans to observe. Happy viewing!

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