WESTMINSTER, Colo. — A bald eagle pair at Standley Lake Regional Park that has experienced several years of bad luck in the nest have a new chance to raise an eaglet to maturity after an egg hatching last week.
"An eaglet has hatched!" the park's Facebook page posted on Friday. "The Bald Eagles at Standley Lake were observed feeding yesterday, so an eaglet hatched sometime this week. We are so proud of our Bald Eagle pair and are hoping for a successful year!"
The female eagle known as F420 laid one or two eggs on Feb. 18. This came after tragedy struck the nest for three straight years. In 2023, their eaglet died when the nest fell. The year before that, their eaglets died for unknown reasons. And in 2021, the tree that supported their nest split down the middle, killing their lone offspring.
> The video above aired March 27: Colorado bald eagle numbers soar to record highs
Last July, the City of Westminster installed a nesting platform for the pair on the western side of the park. The 5-foot-square platform is more than 40 feet tall is viewable from the Eagle Blind near the park's Nature Center, but it's up to the eagles whether they will use the platform in the future.
Meanwhile, another bald eagle pair in Fort St. Vrain are incubating three eggs. The female eagle laid the first egg on the evening of Feb. 29, and two more followed. For those who want to watch the nest, there's a livestream here.
More than 300 bald eagle pairs nest in Colorado, according to 2023 data from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It's the highest total on record and an almost 17% increase from 2022.
The majority of nests that state wildlife officials are seeing are in cottonwood trees near reservoirs.
> Video below: Nesting bald eagles make hardest Englewood golf course hold shorter, easier:
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Animals and Wildlife