Bald Eagle nest: Essex County

June 15, 2017 in Bald Eagle

As the Bald Eagle chicks grown in size the nest starts to become very crowded!  The 3 chicks are now very close to fledge time. The female remains near the nest and on watch most of the time.

Eaglets are nestlings for 10 to 12 weeks. By the time they are 9 weeks old, they are fully grown.

Some scientists did a study keeping track of all the time that the parent eagles spent at the nest. Once the babies hatched, the female was present at the nest about 90% of the time. The male was present about 50% of the time. During the study, at least one of the parents was at the nest almost all the time.

The young nestlings are directly fed raw meat starting day one. Eagles do not regurgitate food to feed their young like some other animals do.During the first two weeks, the male provides most of the food. After 3 or 4 weeks, the female provides as much food as the male, and by the late nesting period, the female provides most of the food.