Two eggs hatch in bald eagle nest at St. Patrick's County Park. See them on eagle cam.
SOUTH BEND — The two bald eagle eggs in the nest at St. Patrick’s County Park have hatched. The first eaglet broke through its egg after 10 a.m. Tuesday morning.
By Wednesday morning, you could see what’s known as a pip hole in the second egg — a spot where the eaglet had punctured the egg from inside, which is the first step to hatching. That eaglet broke free later on Wednesday.
It’s tricky to see this action on the University of Notre Dame’s eagle cam since the adult eagle who’s incubating the young eggs and birds is pretty vigilant about hovering over them. The camera is positioned directly overhead in the sycamore tree where the nest sits.
The eagle cam is at environmentalchange.nd.edu/resources/nd-leef/live-bald-eagle-cam/.
All of this is promising news as, for the first time since eaglets started hatching there in 2015, the adult eagle pair went last year without hatching any young American bald eagles.
It also follows the typical schedule. The season’s first egg was laid on Jan. 24, and the second egg emerged on Feb. 27.
One month earlier: Back in action: Eagles lay eggs in St. Pat's nest after an off year
Egg laying and incubating marks a sensitive time in and around the nest, which is protected by federal laws. Visitors must stay at least 300 feet from the nest through the spring. They can visit Notre Dame's viewing platform to look at the nest through binoculars but can't go any further beyond the ropes there. To reach the pavilion, take the grassy trail that extends east of the park gate along Laurel Road.
Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Bald eagle eaglets hatch in nest at St. Patrick's Park on eagle cam
