Update 3/1

On Friday morning, the area’s eager eagle-watchers caught a glimpse of what we’ve all been waiting for: Liberty and Justice, together in their nest. The two lovebirds hadn’t been caught on camera together yet since Justice’s shocking reappearance at the nest earlier this week. It’s been unclear whether Liberty would forgive Justice’s absence and shack back up with her partner of 14 years, or whether she’d choose to move on with her rebound, M2.

Just before 8 a.m. Friday, Liberty flew to the nest with a fish. She ate peacefully for several minutes, until her estranged partner decided to make his appearance and tensions flared. Perhaps Liberty simply didn’t want to share her fish; perhaps she was punishing Justice for his long absence. The point is, she didn’t look pleased. You can see a video of the encounter here (Justice flies in at about the seven minute mark). After a few seconds of screeching and ruffling her feathers, Liberty goes back to eating her fish. Justice initially tries to take some for himself (the gall, honestly) but Liberty is having absolutely none of it. Eventually, he rearranges some nest branches like a man trying to win favor by doing house chores, and moves to a nearby branch. Liberty finishes her breakfast and flies across the street, presumably to cool off.

Updates on this troubled relationship to come.

Original

The denizens of Washington, D.C. have learned a great many life lessons this bald eagle mating season: all good things must come to an end, community is a crucial coping tool, grief is a catalyst for change.

But one timeless question endures. Does love really last?

We’ll have the opportunity to find out, now that Justice the bald eagle has returned to his nest above the D.C. Police Academy in Southwest. Justice disappeared from his nest exactly 19 days ago for reasons still unknown, leaving his partner of 14 years, Liberty, to incubate their eggs all alone. Not only did Liberty have to warm her own eggs and fetch her own fish, she also had to fend off various other male eagles vying for her attention.

Here’s a quick rundown of the situation, for those who’ve missed it so far: Justice disappeared from the nest he shared with Liberty on February 9. Since then, the area’s committed eagle-watchers have witnessed a high-stakes drama unfold via the Earth Conservation Corp’s live eagle cameras. First, one suitor (christened Aaron Burrd by the ECC) showed up, shortly after Justice disappeared. He had scratches on his talons indicative of a fight with another eagle, possibly our beloved patriarch himself. Justice “got too comfortable,” Tommy Lawrence, the director of the ECC, told DCist at the time. “He was an older, lazy father. He got beat out by a younger male.”

Aaron Burrd tried his very best to woo Liberty, but she remained relatively unmoved by his lackluster efforts. Another eagle, M2, was more successful in his attempts—he very sweetly helped Liberty incubate her eggs, a pretty remarkable profession of love, considering that male bald eagles don’t generally take all that kindly to other males’ progeny. ECC cameras eventually captured Liberty getting frisky with M2, and then she flew off from her nest for more than two whole days. Her eggs, left in the cold for so many hours, are almost certainly unviable at this point. This is where things stood the last time we checked in on the eagles earlier this week.

Since then, Liberty has been spotted back at the nest with M2, who was still occasionally trying to incubate the eggs. And on Wednesday afternoon, something rather unbelievable occurred: Justice returned. Like a beloved TV character who dies in the middle of the series and then suddenly reappears, the bird shocked and delighted his devoted fans (“I’m crying!!!! YAY HONEY!!” writes one commenter on a YouTube video showing his return). Around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, some ECC moderators saw the bird and began to think it might be Justice. After replaying video footage from throughout the day, Lawrence says, they saw clearly that Justice had actually been back at the nest several times throughout the day, though he had not yet run into Liberty.

Obviously, there is a complication mitigating all this unbridled joy: Liberty has moved on with a very fine gentleman named M2. So what happens now?

“Liberty’s kind of with M2 now. It’s been 18 days since Justice disappeared. Eagles move on pretty quick,” Lawrence says. “Justice will have to stake his claim.”

Will Liberty take Justice back? We at DCist cannot tell the future. The birds haven’t been seen at the nest together yet, and it’s not clear how Liberty might be reacting to her previous beloved’s return.

What we do know is that Justice is continuously flying on and off the nest, vocalizing and chasing other male birds away. Just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, Justice was seen flying to the nest, right as Liberty flew under the nest. According to a detailed ECC log, Liberty was heading toward their “usual roost” off the nest (and away from the prying eyes of the ECC cameras). Justice followed her shortly after. Whether to fight or to make up, the lovebirds appeared to want some privacy.

On Thursday morning, Justice was again spotted at the nest. Liberty, who has not been seen at the nest since his return, was nowhere in sight.