First egg hatches

   At 10:22 EST, the first eaglet of the season, D18 hatched. Pictured below is a screen shot of the first glimpse of the newly-hatched eaglet.

Photo: Houston, We Have An Eagle!

Presenting D18! The first bald eagle egg in Decorah hatched today at 9:22AM CDT, bringing the total number of young produced on this territory to 18 so far. The eagles laid egg #1 on February 23rd, at 4:55pm, egg #2 on February 26, at 5:33pm, and egg #3 on March 2, at 6:43pm.  Given the extreme cold and heavy snow, we weren’t sure any of the eggs would hatch. However, the eagles persevered through -40F windchills, direct temperatures of -20F, multiple snowfalls, one of which covered the nest with over ten inches of snow, and drenching rain. They diligently cared for their eggs, taking brief breaks from incubation only when the weather allowed and working almost continuously to bring fresh material in for the nest cup. We are thrilled that their skill and perseverance paid off! We’ll be watching to see if and when the other two eggs hatch. We invite you to watch with us live at https://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Congratulations, Mom and Dad Decorah! We'll be posting video as it comes in, but here are a few to get everyone started:
 
Welcome, D18! https://youtu.be/c2WqbBNhquk
Happy Birthday D18! https://youtu.be/KETKIDkIs04
First Hatchling: https://youtu.be/3INl0XaWark
Little Wing Pops Out: https://youtu.be/zBeF4mVjP0U
A quick peek at D18: https://youtu.be/UgWKjiAnZUg

#DecorahEagles #RaptorResource

   The next eggs should hatch 3-4 days apart, and three days after this egg.