New bald eagle breaks up love bird couple on Valentine's Day

WASHINGTON (KTRK) -- Love may have been in the air for some on Valentine's Day, but things did not go well for a pair of bald eagles who have shared a nest in Washington for over a decade.

People quickly noticed something wasn't right when a pair of mated eagles named Liberty and Justice were spotted apart for the first time in 14 years.

The male eagle, Justice, was nowhere to be found.

"He may have just flown the coop," Earth Conservation Corps Tommy Lawrence said.

During his absence, a new male swooped in, and people at the conservation corps started calling the new eagle, Aaron Burrd.

"Because he chased Justice away, and we don't know what happened. It's very Aaron Burr-like," Lawrence said.

Justice has reportedly been missing since Thursday, and in that time a lot has changed.

Liberty laid her first egg of 2019, and the new eagle is getting comfortable.

"Life happens. You've got to move on," Lawrence said.

Meanwhile, the new male eagle is sporting wounds that indicate he was in a scrap with another eagle recently.

"That's the natural world for you. I mean, it doesn't take long. If there's a valuable male that comes in, then Liberty has to weigh her options," Lawrence said.

Liberty and Justice are among the mated bald eagles that are monitored by conservation corps.

The group also monitors another eagle named Mister President and First Lady, but it's too early to say if they have any relationship problems of their own.