It watched the parent eat.
Then it got a few bites. I don't know why the parents aren't letting this eaglet self-feed. I think maybe in nests with multiple chicks, there is competition to take the food, resulting in the victor mantling over the food and self-feeding. Maybe in the absence of siblings, self-feeding is delayed.
Nap time!
This one cracked me up. The eaglet tried to get under the parent...
It's hatch day at the Berry College Bluebird nest! I took this s'cap shortly after 9:00AM.
Mom checked the eggs. Is something happening?
Dad came in and gave Mom something to eat. Here he is leaving.
About an hour after the first s'cap above I took this s'cap. You can see an egg with part of the shell missing at the 6 o'clock position.
A little while later, Mom gathers the broken shell and leaves the nest...
...giving us the first look at the baby.
"Hello baby!"
When a parent approaches the entrance to the nest box, the lighting inside the box changes. This is how the baby reacted. Aren't instincts grand?
The parents also have an instinct: To feed their young. They brought a lot of food to the nest. This first hatch really got a lot of food!
It looks like the baby is half head and half body!
You can see Mom's tail when she perches in the entrance to the nest box.
The baby is already getting around.
More food. If the baby doesn't open up when Mom wants to feed, she will nudge it. Sometimes the baby would react by opening wide, other times not... A newborn can only eat so much!
Dad is top left and Mom is bottom right. Dad just gave Mom a bite (you can see it in her beak) which she shared with the baby.
Another feeding.
The baby is really moving around the nest. It's late and I don't think we have a second hatch yet. We'll have to wait and see what the morning brings...
It was getting late in the day when I brought up the Hays nest. Happy that I still got some daylight! Here the smallest is closest to the adult with one of the older chicks close by. I figured that the third chick must be full, not even trying to participate in the feeding.
As soon as I'd saved that s'cap, the IR light came on.
The third chick decided it was hungry after all, put on some big kid shorts, and strolled over to check out the action -- just coming out of a big stretch here. I love how the chick looks in this s'cap. Makes me smile!
All the kids are looking at the adult, learning how to be eagles. (Or maybe they all just want to be fed...)
Meal time is over and everyone is finding a spot to settle down for the night.
Mom watches over her babies as they come in close to stay warm.
Seeing that everyone is tucked in for the night, she lays down with them.
And satisfied that all is well with her brood, she tucks her head under her wing. Sleep well...
I only got a few s'caps of the White Rock nest.
Little carbon copies of each other. I would be so happy if one of these chicks is male and one is female. They hatched so close together that any developmental differences would probably be due to gender...
I think this eagle has a heart shaped face... Especially when the breeze is coming from behind.
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