Eagle Cam Update

Our Shepherdstown, WV, bald eagle nest is once again active. You will remember that this breeding pair has often laid three eggs in the past. Last year all three eaglets were fledged. Well, my friends there are most likely three eggs this spring. (We know of two for certain.) The Eagle Cam is up and running. Please keep watching the hatching, feeding, and fledging throughout the next few months.

Click on the link to go to the live cam site. http://www.fws.gov/nctc/cam/livevideo.html

Here is an early update from the National Conservation Training Center on Shepherd Grade in Shepherdstown.

Winter Update #1 - February 5, 2009

There's been a lot of action at the NCTC nest this week. The first egg of the season was laid on Saturday, January 31, and the second egg was laid Monday, February 2. We are hoping for a third egg in the next 12-18 hours or so. Only time will tell, but this pair has a good track record for three eggs.

Here's Bent's description of the eagle eggs:

" Eggs.--Two eggs almost invariably make up a full set for the bald eagle, sometimes only one, and rarely three; in two or three cases four eggs have been found in a nest, but these may have been the product of two females. The eggs vary in shape from rounded-ovate to ovate, the former predominating. The shell is rough or coarsely granulated. The color is dull white or pale bluish white and unmarked, though often nest stained. Very rarely an egg shows a few slight traces of pale brown or buff markings.

The measurements of 50 eggs from Florida average 70.5 by 54.2 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 78.8 by 56.2, 71.1 by 57.6, and 58.1 by 47 millimeters. The eggs are ridiculously small for large a bird. (Compare the relative sizes of the eggs of the ruddy duck, the sandpipers, or the hummingbirds.) Consequently the little eaglet requires a long time to develop."--[Published in 1937: Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum Bulletin 167 (Part 1): 321-333]

Incubation is about 34-35 days, where both eagles will take turns keeping the eggs warm. The nest and the parents will protect the eggs from the dangers of cold and dampness, but we are always wary of bad weather, as it can have a devastating effect on the eggs, as happened in 2007.

The eagle cam has had approximately 32,000 hits since we cranked it back up 22 days ago.