They just had breakfast. It looks like #2 is getting stronger. It holds its head up much better than it did yesterday.
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…
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. 
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.
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.
From the site I linked to in post #45:
Heathens!
I’m quite disturbed by the new dead thing in the nest. The little paws in the air are just too creepy.
Woodchuck?
There appeared to be a slight hail storm as they changed spots. And I saw two chicks and one egg.
I thought I saw some snow earlier. And you may be right, needscoffee. It could be a woodchuck.
I agree, or maybe a young Marmot. Thanks again for this thread, Bumbershoot!
Definitely not a possum tho, wrong color.
There’s a crack in egg # 3!!
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.
Mama seems awful sleepy.
Muskrat? I thought I saw a long, ratty tail.
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.
According to the FAQ:
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’.
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!