# Watch Bald Eagle eggs hatch **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 30, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573 "2011-03-30T22:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/101 "2011-04-04T12:46:58Z")
They just had breakfast. It looks like #2 is getting stronger. It holds its head up much better than it did yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/102 "2011-04-04T13:20:41Z")
Has anyone else noticed what looks to me like the chicks squabbling between themselves? I have seen the little buggers take a peck at one another! Sibling rivalry starts early with eagles… ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/103 "2011-04-04T16:21:26Z")
What is that…creature… that was just delivered? It has… hands… And I just saw definite bickering between the chicks, in fact, I thought for a minute that one of them was seriously injured. It was pecked in the face pretty hard and just lay there, motionless. Even Daddy Eagle was concerned and gently nudged the chick till it moved again. I am not liking the bully. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/104 "2011-04-04T16:25:59Z")
I think that’s a possum, PapSett. And I have definitely noticed the aggressive behavior of #1. I saw the incident you described and I saw the same thing happen yesterday evening. That’s life, I guess- only the strong survive! Edit: I think #2 is doing okay, however. It’s getting stronger, and the parents are seeing that they both get fed. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/105 "2011-04-04T16:32:25Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Has anyone else noticed what looks to me like the chicks squabbling between themselves? I have seen the little buggers take a peck at one another! Sibling rivalry starts early with eagles… I saw a documentary about bald eagles and eaglets - trust me at some point they’ll have to turn the camera off because the pecking will get worse and worse. My girlfriend at the time started to cry because it was so sad. Eaglet #2 is just “Plan B”. If eaglet #1 does well, the younger one will be pecked a whole lot more by its older sibling (like all day, every day), and the parents will probably stop bothering to feed it. If something happens to #1 and he’s no longer viable, then they’ll start taking better care of #2. It’s horribly sad. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/106 "2011-04-04T16:41:40Z")
From the site I linked to in post #45: > [@](#): > > Sometimes two chicks will survive, but it is not uncommon for the older eaglet to kill the smaller one, especially if the older is a female, as females are consistently larger than males. Should one chick decide to kill its sibling, neither parent will make the slightest effort to stop the fratricide. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/107 "2011-04-04T16:53:25Z")
Heathens! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/108 "2011-04-04T17:15:49Z")
I’m quite disturbed by the new dead thing in the nest. The little paws in the air are just too creepy. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/109 "2011-04-04T17:22:15Z")
Woodchuck? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/110 "2011-04-04T17:22:49Z")
There appeared to be a slight hail storm as they changed spots. And I saw two chicks and one egg. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/111 "2011-04-04T17:31:24Z")
I thought I saw some snow earlier. And you may be right, needscoffee. It could be a woodchuck. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/112 "2011-04-04T17:33:42Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Woodchuck? I agree, or maybe a young Marmot. Thanks again for this thread, Bumbershoot! ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/113 "2011-04-04T17:58:34Z")
Definitely not a possum tho, wrong color. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/114 "2011-04-04T18:17:53Z")
There’s a crack in egg # 3!! ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/115 "2011-04-04T18:41:24Z")
If eaglet #3 has any consideration, it will emerge between the time I get home from work and the start of the NCAA championship game. I don’t think that’s asking too much. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/116 "2011-04-04T19:23:19Z")
Mama seems awful sleepy. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/117 "2011-04-04T19:44:41Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Definitely not a possum tho, wrong color. Muskrat? I thought I saw a long, ratty tail. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/118 "2011-04-04T19:50:09Z")
Muskrat! That must be it. I saw that hairless tail when Mama was tearing chunks off a while ago and decided it couldn’t be a woodchuck. Edit: That also explains what appeared to be very long teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/119 "2011-04-04T20:02:18Z")
According to the FAQ: > [@](#): > > What is the history of this pair? > They have been together since the winter of 2007-2008. Her markings at that time indicated that she was about 4 years old. They successfully hatched and fledged 2 eaglets in 2008, then 3 in 2009, and 3 more in 2010. So, for all you worrywarts concerned about the natural order of things, it appears this pair does a better than average job at eaglet-rearin’. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/51bf81/32.png) [@Big\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Blue)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573/120 "2011-04-04T22:41:16Z")
I noticed the pecking yesterday, too. I thought it disturbing but remembered the quote Knorf posted above. I assume the quote meant that all the eaglets survived to leave the nest, no? I hope so. I’d love to see them all survive. They are so cool looking when they are small! I thought that the creature now in there was a smallish groundhog. I’m not sure I know what a Muskrat looks like, and if that is one… I still don’t! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watch-bald-eagle-eggs-hatch/576573.md?page=7)