May 3 2024, 11:59 am - the pair at our Surrey Reserve bald eagle cam nest only have one egg this year (a second one was laid prematurely and collapsed immediately), and the chick inside is working hard to get out. Normally, when eaglets hatch, they peck their way around the middle of the egg, then push the two halves apart. That doesn't seem to be working here - I'm not sure if the membrane is tougher than usual, or if the chick is having trouble turning inside the shell, or what is different, but the chick appears to be focused on one side of the shell rather than circling around inside. Observers first confirmed that there was a pip (small hole in the shell that's the first external sign the hatch is in progress) yesterday, May 2nd, at 12:30 pm, so about 24 hours before this video was taken. Hatching can take up to 48 hours, and the hole in the egg seems bigger each time we get a look, so I have my fingers crossed that we will soon see a healthy chick outside of the shell. ~JudyB Watch them live at hancockwildlife.org/surrey-re... and follow the action on our forum - posts about the hatch start here - forum.hancockwildlife.org/vie...
Update - as of 3:08 pm, the shell appeared to have split in half so the chick has a way to get out; hatch is not complete, but looking much more like all the other hatches I've watched.