Bald Eagle on nest!

March 27, 2014 in Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle pair near the Merrimack River in Essex County is back on nest again this year! In 2013, this pair raised one chick. the growth of the 2013 chick was monitored and documented on tis blog last year. The egg or eggs were laid around middle/late February and hatched mid/late March. The female is now sitting much higher in the nest and we await first sightings of this year’s brood! According to Birds of North America Online: “At hatching, covered with light-gray down, initially wet but dries quickly, eyes brown, gape and legs pink, and skin pink. Capable of limited locomotion. Second down begins to emerge at 9–11 d. Flight feathers emerge at 2–3 wk; body contour feathers begin emerging with the humeral tract at 3–4 wk. Great variability in emergence of contour feathers, such that same-aged individuals may look different. Feathers on head and back emerge at 4–5 wk; Maximum growth attained at about 3–4 wk of age. Male develops flight feathers and asymptotic size more rapidly than female, such that measurement of wing-chord, central rectrice, and eighth primary not sexually dimorphic during nestling period, although these characters show considerable sexual dimorphism in fully developed birds.”