Posted on 02/25/2020 4:00:47 AM PST by nikos1121
For nearly two months, a pair of bald eagles in the San Bernardino National Forest have watched vigilantly over two eggs laid in early January, but officials say it’s looking like the eggs aren’t likely to hatch. The chicks should have been born around Valentine’s Day, but on Feb. 21 — more than 40 days after the eggs were laid — the U.S. Forest Service delivered the disappointing news. “It’s hard to say this,” the officials wrote on Facebook in announcing that the odds were against the eggs hatching. The chances “are diminishing each day,” they wrote. “The window of successful hatching is closing.” Bald eagle Jackie laid her first egg of the year Jan. 8. Three days later, she laid a second.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Eggs typically hatch 35 to 38 days after they are laid. There hasn’t been any definitive pip, or crack, in either egg, a sign the eggs may never hatch.
The Forest Service cited a number of reasons why the eggs might not survive, resulting in what’s called a nest failure. They could have suffered incomplete fertilization during the mating process, or the embryos could have died during incubation because of various reasons, including weather, environmental factors or congenital defects. It’s also possible the chicks weren’t able to break out of their shells.
Trump’s fault.
We need to start spreading DDT
LIVE STREAM HERE: https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-01-21/big-bear-lake-bald-eagles-two-eggs-nest-webcam
Maybe bums are crapping in the nest?
So sad.
as a watcher of this nest, this is disappointing but the parent eagles are young. perhaps there might even be a second clutch of eggs this season since they started early. it is a good thing that the bald eagle population is recovering in general. to watch these birds on the nest cam - and all the other available nests - is an edifying experience.
We have bald eagles in my neck of Florida. Very enjoyable to spot one when I am on my daily rounds. One pair inexplicably decided to nest near a retention pond close to Interstate 95 instead of a nearby river.
The rivers here are thick with bald eagles. You can have some of ours. Preferably before opening day of trout season.
You’re saying it’s unlikely they’ll hatch?
yes it doesn’t look like a hatch in this clutch. they are way beyond the normal 35-38 days of incubation although the parents are still incubating. perhaps the eggs will break, disintegrate or parents will start to leave nest more and more as nature sends them the message. they are devoted to each other so i wonder if another egg or two might not be possible - if their hormones are still up. last year they hatched 2 eggs - but lost one chick to hypothermia due to weather.
It’s very common for a young pair to have a dud clutch. Low humidity, awkward perch for first time sex, sometimes one bird has exceptionally thick feathering around the vent causing poor contact. Older birds figure out the humidity by bathing before incubating or waiting for weather fronts or rain to start fooling around. I had a pair of birds that were thought to be infertile until I tried trimming the feathers.
I was bow hunting once in a tree stand when a bald eagle silently flew up behind me and landed on a branch over my head. The first inkling I had he was there was a loud crack when the branch broke and suddenly I had a very large bald eagle right in my face. Literally. Inches away. Moments you never forget.
I had to fight a Golden Eagle to save my little Podengo Gypsy.
You think Balds are big, you ain’t seen nothin’.
Despite my snatching her up before it did, it then continued to attack *me* the whole way back to the house.
Horrifying.
Democrats who would have no problem mutilating a baby will be weeping over this.
You have echoed my first thought.
i’m no Democrat - and i’m disappointed. but this is the way of Nature.
Coronavirus
We have a significant population of bald eagles here in Illinois. Mrs L and I spotted one about 4 weeks ago near Hinckley.
L
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