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Bald eagle mom feeds baby for first time in California nest. See the ‘precious moment’

UPDATE: The second eaglet has hatched and emerged from its shell as of March 29, according to the live eagle camera.

The original story is below.

A delighted bald eagle mom is seen feeding her baby eagle for the first time since it hatched in a Northern California nest, a video shows.

Many have watched with anticipation as bald eagles Liberty and Guardian have tended to two eggs for well over a month in Redding.

One of the eagles finally freed itself from its egg March 26, five days after going on hatch watch, according to the Friends of the Redding Eagles founder and director Terri Lhuillier.

Liberty feeds her hungry eaglet

The following day Liberty is seen snacking on a piece of fish in her nest.

She tears off pieces of the fish and drops them in her baby’s mouth, a video shows.

The hungry eagle is seen stretching its body up, beak open, to reach the fish. It wobbles and bobs as Liberty feeds it each bite.

After about five minutes, Liberty lowers her body over the eaglet to keep it warm, and it disappears under her feathers.

“This is such a precious moment!!” the group said in a Facebook post.

The second egg could hatch “any day now,” Lhuillier told McClatchy News.

Bald eagles Liberty and Guardian are seen in their Redding, California, nest on Feb. 15.
Bald eagles Liberty and Guardian are seen in their Redding, California, nest on Feb. 15. Screengrab from the Friends of the Redding Eagles webcam

One of three eggs broke

Liberty laid her first egg Feb. 15, her second egg Feb. 18, followed by her third egg three days later.

One of the three eggs was seen cracked Feb. 29 in the nest, after the area was hit with blustery winds, McClatchy News reported.

Because of this, the group doesn’t know which egg broke apart.

“If it was egg #1 then that would delay things for a few more days,” the group’s founder and director Terri Lhuillier told McClatchy News.

The eagles can be viewed on a live nest camera on YouTube.

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This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 9:22 AM with the headline "Bald eagle mom feeds baby for first time in California nest. See the ‘precious moment’."

Helena Wegner
McClatchy DC
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.
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