BANGOR (AP) - Last week's powerful spring storm apparently claimed the lives of two closely watched eagle chicks that hatched just days before, wildlife observers said.

Researchers at the BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham believe that the two chicks featured on an eagle cam project perished in coastal Hancock County.

High winds knocked down trees in the area and broke limbs from the nesting tree and the tree that holds the camera, the institute's Wing Goodale said.

"The nest is exposed to the northeast, so it was not protected at all from this storm," Goodale told the Bangor News on Friday. "They just got hammered."

A first indication that the chicks had not survived came Wednesday when observers noticed that the adult eagles were on and off the nest frequently, Goodale said.

"At this point, it was not looking particularly good," he said.

Then, observers reported Thursday that the adults had not been on the nest all night.

"That was strong confirmation that the chicks did not make it," he said.

According to Goodale, the loss of the two chicks followed more than a decade of successful hatchings by the parent pair.

Billed as the most productive eagle pair in the state, the eagle parents have produced a total of 20 chicks during 13 consecutive years of successful hatchings, researchers believe.

Goodale said it is unlikely that they will try to nest on the site again this year.

Researchers estimate the eagles are 18 years old and still capable of reproducing.

"They didn't abandon the nest because of a disturbance or because of a predator," Goodale said. "They left after the chicks died. Absolutely. We expect them to come back."

The site of the nest has been kept secret.