Zoom zoom, peep peep
You’ll see lots of close-in zooming on the two eggs in our nest this week. Friday, March 18 marks 35 days from the first egg laying. Average incubation is 34-36 days, but it could take as long as 40 days for the first chick to appear. Thanks to microphones in nest cams, we now know that the adults can hear the chicks peeping inside of the egg during these last few days. A day or so before the egg hatches we will see what is called a pip, a hole in the egg the chick makes by rubbing the inside of the shell with a notch on the top of its beak, called the egg tooth. The egg shell is much thinner now closer to hatch, than when the egg was laid because the chick has absorbed much of the shell’s calcium into its developing bones. So watch closely when we are able to zoom the camera to look for the first signs of a pip this week!
What you may have missed
The young male continues to regularly bring various prey items. While bald eagles are classified as fish eagles because their feet are specially adapted to grasp slippery prey, they are also considered carnivores because they only eat meat. Prey items vary quite a bit and just this morning the male brought a muskrat to the female for lunch.
The raccoons continue to visit the nest, though not as frequently. As the ground thaws, they will find easier prey to find on the ground such as frogs, fish and small mammals. A coyote was observed on the ground below the nest this week. The presence of this predator is not a direct threat to the eagles but more of a threat to the raccoons. Hopefully the presence of predators under the nest will encourage the raccoons to move on and stop pestering the eagle parents at night!
NOTE TO CAM WATCHERS – clicking noise: The microphone at the nest is faulty. A replacement arrived too late to install this season. The eagles cannot hear the clicking noise, but it can be bothersome to hear when watching the EagleCam. We suggest muting your sound until next season.
It is an exciting time at the nest, so stay tuned to watch nature up-close and learn all about eagles.
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