A bald eagle chick has hatched in a snowy nest in the Southern California mountains. Friends of Big Bear Valley, which operates a webcam, says the chick was born Thursday afternoon.
Video shot the camera on Friday shows the eagle pair, a male named Shadow and a female named Jackie, caring for the chick. It appears one of the eagles is feeding the chick.
The egg was laid on January 22. A second egg that was laid on January 25 may hatch in a few days.
Last year, the pair also laid two eggs, but neither chick survived.
The nest is in a pine tree about 145 feet above the ground. Friends of Big Bear Valley said on its website that a biological tree-climber was hired to install the camera because that person had the knowledge of how to climb trees without damaging the tree or its habitats.
Bald eagle facts
- Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Average life span in the wild: 28 years
- Adult male length: About 3 feet
- Adult male wingspan: 6.6 feet
- Adult female length: About 6.5 feet
- Adult female wingspan: 8 feet
- Weight: 6.5 to 14 pounds
- Nests: About 5 feet wide, but some older nests can be twice that
- How long for eggs to hatch: A little more than a month
- Both males and females handle incubating eggs and feeding young
- Only eagle native solely to North America
- U.S. national bird since 1782
Eagle facts sources: National Geographic, Britannica