Eagle lays egg

Yesterday afternoon, March 5th, the female laid the first of up to three eggs. We have confirmed this by her constant presence on the nest through the night. Over the next 3-4 days the female will potentially lay two more eggs. We can now start the count down to hatching—35 days.

During this unusually cold weather the birds will be very diligent on keeping the eggs warm. Temperatures across Maine today are going to be in the single digits with below zero wind chill.

You will see that the birds will periodically stand up and rotate the egg. This is an important part of incubation and keeps the embryo from becoming stuck to one side of the egg. Also keep an eye out for the male bringing food to the female and also taking over incubation from time to time. The female does most of the incubation.

What is very interesting is that the birds have laid their first egg exactly 24-hours earlier than last year. Last year they laid their first egg in the afternoon of March 6th.

Wing Goodale, BRI

Below is a post from the blog on March 6th 2006 by Mark McCollough of USFWS and Charlie Todd of MDIFW.

“March 6 notes: incubation begins! The eagles completed nest building last week. For several days they carried grass, sprigs of pine, and other fine materials to line the center of the nest. After home improvements were finished, the female began laying prone in the nest for short periods of time. Late last week the duration of incubation behavior increased, and we knew that egg-laying was not far away. She remained prone for 30% of the time during a 4-hour period on February 27, but periodic absences indicate that eggs had not yet arrived.Bald eagles have spectacular courtship displays in the weeks leading up to egg-laying. They soar to great heights, lock talons and cartwheel at dizzying speed to the earth, breaking apart just before they hit the ground. They may chase each other, lock talons, roll together in the air, and continue their tandem flight. These behaviors are part of an annual courtship ritual to strengthen the pair bond and encourage mating. Copulation may take place on the nest or a perch nearby. During the last week, we often heard the eagles vocalizing from the nest tree, but out of view of the camera. Our eagles were discreet, and we didn't observe mating. We suspect the couple spent a romantic weekend somewhere on the coast of Maine!By the morning of March 6, both birds were at the nest for extended periods of time but still left for varying intervals. Charlie stopped at the USFWS office that afternoon to pick up several eagle carcasses sampled by Steve Mierzykowski, our contaminants biologist. We tuned into this web site and were thrilled to see that the female had resumed incubation posture in the nest. A clear, starry night revealed the adult's white head in that same position long after sunset. Nothing had changed by first light March 7. It seems certain an egg was late March 6!Management comments: Some observers of nesting eagles get the mistaken impression that they are no longer present when, in fact, incubation is underway. One member of the pair is almost always attending the eggs and out of view. Its prone posture is usually not visible from below. The mate may be ranging widely for food or watching nearby but is also less conspicuous to most. Seasonal privacy near the nest is their priority and a good strategy for those who want to co-exist with nesting eagles. -- Mark McCollough, USFWS, and Charlie Todd, MDIFW”