Sibling Rivalry at the Southwest Florida Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College Bald Eagle Nest S'caps

The SW Florida Eagle Nest hatchlings are engaging in sibling rivalry. The folks at that nest have made a statement about this behavior. If you choose to watch a nature cam, please remember that nature can be harsh. Most times, they work it out. Sometimes, if there is a lack of food, the smaller eaglet dies. In this case, it is better for one to fledge strong than to have two weaklings fail to survive in the first year. It's survival of the fittest. In the case of this nest, food is plentiful. At this point, I think they will both survive.

Here's my daily s'caps of the Berry College nest. I just missed seeing the egg in this first picture. Mom has hooked her beak down into the grasses and is wiggling back and forth, settling in on the egg.

A half an hour later, she is up again. Here, she is fluffing the grass in the nest bowl, keeping it nice and soft and not packed down. She is also doing an egg roll. The egg has to be rolled periodically -- this keeps the temperature consistent throughout the egg and keeps the embryo from adhering to the egg wall.

Then she looks around before settling back down on the egg.