I am back in town after seeing Paul McCartney in Madison....and very sad to report that it appears that the Arboretum cam nest has failed. I believe the newly hatched chicks may have succumbed to the swarms of black flies, or buffalo gnats, that we have been observing. There is an article on the front page of the Star Tribune about this very issue. They refer to the issue as approaching historic levels. The MMCD, who usually treats the black fly larvae, was unable to this year as a result of floodwaters. I have never seenanything quite like this and it’s disturbing. Another nest in the area of the Arboretum has also failed, and we suspect for the same reason. I will be checking nests this weekend....as many as I can, to see if others have failed.
(There are many more comments and conversations about this topic on our Facebook page).
(There are many more comments and conversations about this topic on our Facebook page).
I also hear that the Raptor resource project is observing black fly problems with eagles nesting in Iowa. Hoping for some dry, windy weather.
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