Eaglets from 2 to 4 weeks from Hatch
By the first of May, the 2 young in the nest are growing visibly larger
and also are
turning a darker shade of gray. They still have the down, but if you
could see the young
close up, you could begin to make out the beginnings of feathers mixed
in with the down.
During the next few weeks, the change in the eaglet’s plumage is very
noticeable. The
wings are longer, but with no feathers yet, look like skinny 2 jointed
arms.
The
young are now about half the height of their parents and do not spend
much time trying to keep warm under the nest sitting parent like they
did when they were smaller.
When the young aren’t being fed, they spend a lot of time sleeping
in the bottom of the
nest. They lie on
their belly with legs folded underneath, and they rest their head on
the bottom of the nest.
The young are eating more now, and the parents are busy hunting for
prey and feeding
the now rapidly growing eaglets. Most of their diet is fish. With this
nest, I saw several
species of fish and 1 squirrel delivered to the nest by the adults.
