Both eaglets ate very well yesterday at SWFL Bald eagles, and some small steps were taken towards learning to eat independently. Post includes views of prey, and some sibling rivalry.
Eaglets resting. E20 higher on screen, E19 lower.
Dad M15 feeding E19, E20 waiting.
E19 is full, E20 gets their share.
After M leaves the nest, the eaglets nibble on the leftover fish. It was an armoured catfish, so most of what's left is the "armour".
E20 discovers fishtail, and tries to get bites out of it, holding it down under their feet.
E20 picks up the tail, and carries it to the center of the nest to work on it in peace, though E19 seems only mildly interested. The eaglets can't walk on their feet yet, but they get around clumsily walking on their hocks, with everything below the ankle joint against the ground.
Still not strong enough to tear out pieces, but good job practicing!
M15 shows up with a piece of mystery meat, and offers it to E19. The older eaglet is still full enough from breakfast to not want it, so M just leaves the meat in the nest.
E19 moves to the nest rails, and E20 wanders over. Ooh, what's this?
E20 successfully picks up and eats the meat piece. Good job!
Hanging out at the nest rails together. E20 left, E19 right.
Closeup of pin feather development on E19's wing.
And E20's.
Harriet feeding the eaglets, E20 higher on screen. E19 ate more, but both got bites.
M15 arrives with a whole, live fish. E19 secures getting to eat first with a bonk at E20.
But soon E19 is full, and it's E20's turn, having patiently waited for the older sibling to be done.
E19 moves to dad's shadow, giving E20 further confidence to beg for food without having to worry about E19 being within bonking distance. All E19 wants now is a nap, and there's plenty of fish left. The rest is all E20's!
Feast time!
E20, E19. Resting on crop pillows.
Harriet brings a piece of mystery meat, presumably these are from roadkill(s). While primarily piscivores, Bald eagles also hunt various small animals from the ground and air, and are opportunistic scavengers. Harriet and M nest near several busy roads, so they have a good supply of critters already killed for them by cars.
Both eaglets are so stuffed they're not interested when she first brings the meat piece, so she snacks on it a bit herself before moving to the attic branch. She tries again about 15 minutes later, and E20 would like some mystery meat, please! E20 did a good-sized poop shoot just before, so that probably helped make room, lol.
E20 eats until no more will fit again.
E19 biting mom's tail when it gets in their face. :D
The E's resting in Harriet's shadow. E20 watching something with mom.
Harriet feeding E19 a supper of more mystery meat M brought. E20 didn't eat, but has a full crop from previous feedings. E19 is bigger, and needs more food to be full.
The E's get comfy under Harriet, and the parents arrange the nest materials together before M moves to the attic branch to guard his family for the night.
ETA: Also a cute closeup of E19 from the morning, but I went back and screenshotted it later so here it is at the end of the post.
As for the sibling rivalry, it seems to have calmed down from a few days ago, and I'm sure today's feast helps, but it does still occur. Mostly at mealtimes, but sometimes a sudden move from E20 will trigger aggression in E19 even if there's seemingly nothing to compete over. This is, again, normal, and part of growing up as an eagle.
I try to give some context for the behavior whenever featuring it, because it can be upsetting to witness. Here is information on sibling rivalry in Bald eagle nests that was provided in the nestcam site's chat, where the admins will often share their knowledge on the animals being watched and provide context for their behaviors. I recommend tuning in for the chats if you're interested, no participation or signing up is needed to view the chats.
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