Whether or not you consider yourself an animal lover or an outdoorsy person, this live stream of a bald eagle nest just 75 miles from the District is the can’t-miss event of the season!
Why, you may ask?
Well, that’s because the bald eagle couple (Scout and Bella) at the “upper” nest on the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) campus near Shepherdstown, W.V. are scheduled to hatch their baby eaglets this week!
How to watch the bald eagle babies hatch
You can watch the live stream of the “upper” nest on the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service YouTube page!
Camera 1
From Camera 1, you can see a prime angle of the bald eagle couple incubating their three eggs.
The bald eagle couple typically take turns looking after the nest and incubating the eggs!
Camera 2
From Camera 2, you get a more wide-angle view of the nest!
This camera is perfect for viewing either the bald eagles approach the nest or watching them do their usual “shift changes” throughout the day as they take turns incubating the eggs.
When are the baby bald eagle eggs going to hatch?
The bald eagle couple laid the three eggs that they are currently incubating within a week of each other:
- The first egg was laid on February 10th
- The second egg was laid on February 12th
- The third egg was laid on February 16th
Given that bald eagle eggs will normally hatch roughly 35-38 days after being laid, that means that this week we are very likely to see at least the first of the three eggs hatch this week!
Update 1 – the first egg has hatched!
The first egg, which was laid on February 10th, appears to have had its first pip around 7 am on March 20th and hatched around 4 pm the same day.
A pip is when the egg first begins to crack and open during the eaglet’s hatching process!
Catch a glimpse of those first moments here:
What to know about this bald eagle couple
While this bald eagle nest has been around since 2004, located just about a quarter mile from the Potomac River and 75 miles from the District, its current residents didn’t move in until around 2019 (Bella) and 2023 (Scout).
In addition to the original nest 90 feet in the air (which is at risk of potential collapse because some parts of the tree that support it have rotted), the bald eagle couple has been building a new nest 15 feet lower in the same tree!
The male, Scout, can be told apart by a few dark feathers on his white head, while Bella, the female, is the larger of the two.
Additionally, Bella will typically have a “fluffier” looking cowl, whereas Scout, as a male, will have noticeably slicker-looking feathers along his head that are more ‘stuck’ to his body.