Most pictures are from the Maine Bald Eagle Cam Discussion Forum's
thread on the Blackwater Refuge Eagle Cam
Additional info and pictures from the Hancock Wildlife Channel's
thread on the Blackwater Refuge Eagle Cam
The nest is located about 80 feet up in the air in a tree in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge on Maryland's Eastern Shore. In the three years the camera has been on line, the pair has successfully raised seven eaglets - three chicks in 2005, two in 2006 and two in 2007.
Based on past experience, look for eggs in late January, chicks in early March, and fledging in mid to late May.
(photo of tree climber from Friends of Blackwater Eagle Web Log, all rights reserved;
closeup of nest © 2007 Paula Compton, used with permission, all rights reserved)
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eggs laid: January 26 (seen 3:52 pm) and January 30 (seen 6:56 am)
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hatched: March 3 (seen 5:37 pm) (~37 days) and March 5 (seen 6:33 am) (~35 days)
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fledged: one by May 26 (84 days - 12 weeks) and the other by June 9 (96 days - almost 14 weeks) (camera angle makes it hard to tell exactly)
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last seen: both were on the nest July 1 (about 17 weeks) (cam down for the season in mid July)
bociany's photo - March 3, 2008
soph9's photo - March 4, 2008
Shoebutton's photo - March 4, 2008
showing its little wings
JudyB's photo - March 4, 2008
Jutka's photo - March 4, 2008
pipping hole is visible in the second egg now
Shoebutton's photos - March 5, 2008
jmt's photos - March 5, 2008
Shoebutton's photo - March 5, 2008
Shoebutton's photos - March 6, 2008
JudyB's photos - March 6, 2008
JudyB's photos - March 6, 2008
They each get a share of the food!
Sherri's photos - March 6, 2008
Look at the wing in the second picture!
Soph9's photos - March 7, 2008
JudyB's photo - March 7, 2008
"it looks a bit as if the little one on the right is already trying to crawl out of the nestbowl"
PattiO's photos - March 7, 2008
bociany's photo - March 7, 2008
Mumbrella protects the eaglets from the rain.
mariepr's photo - March 8, 2008
"Mom and the eaglets made it through the wet night"
PattiO's photo - March 8, 2008
JudyB's photo - March 9, 2008
Sherri's photo - March 9, 2008
Sherri's photo - March 10, 2008
(the older one is 1 week old)
Shoebutton's photo - March 10, 2008
soph9's photo - March 11, 2008
bociany's photo - March 11, 2008
EmtyBelfty's photo - March 11, 2008
Lori's photo - March 11, 2008
Sherri's photo - March 11, 2008
JudyB's photo - March 12, 2008
(the younger one is one week old)
Shoebutton's photos - March 13, 2008
Shoebutton's photo - March 13, 2008
As far as we know, no food was delivered today; the eaglets were fed a few scraps - but no real meals.
PattiO's photo - March 14, 2008
"Looks as if the one in back's saying 'What about me?'"
Lori's photo - March 14, 2008
Exploring out of the nest bowl - and showing that they relatively on track
in spite of the haphazard feedings they've been getting.
Sherri's photo - March 14, 2008
Dad eventually brought a fish & Mom gave a food feeding.
soph9's photo - March 15, 2008
Sherri's photo - March 15, 2008
Dad put in several appearances today, and at least 3 fish were delivered - a good day!
The chicks were alone in the nest much of the day - fortunately weather is good.
3/16/08: "We've noticed the occasional eaglet sitting at the parent's chest at night. This is usually a sign that the chicks are getting better at controlling their own temperatures."
Sherri's photo - March 16, 2008
JudyB's photo - March 17, 2008
You can see the darker second coat of down coming in.
(the older one is 2 weeks old)
JudyB's photos - March 18, 2008
"I did catch both parents in the nest at least 5 times today, and saw a whole bunch of feedings. The eaglets were rarely left alone for more than a few minutes. This is more like it!!"
JudyB's photo - March 19, 2008
More dark down - and a l-o-n-g neck!
soph9's photo - March 19, 2008
What big talons that little chick has!
(the younger eaglet is 2 weeks old)
EmtyBelfry's photo - March 20, 2008
The darker down shows up well in this light.
PattiO's photo - March 21, 2008
Sherri's photo - March 21, 2008
Wings are getting bigger!
EmtyBelfry's photo - March 22, 2008
"WOW, my feet are geting BIG!"
birdofprey's photo - March 23, 2008
Bunnybits's photo - March 23, 2008
JudyB's photo - March 24, 2008
(older one is three weeks old)
soph9's photo - March 24, 2008
Big crops!
PattiO's photo - March 25, 2008
EmtyBelfry's photo - March 26, 2008
JudyB's photos - March 26, 2008
(younger one is three weeks old)
bociany's photo - March 27, 2008
soph9's photos - March 27, 2008
Compare Dad's foot at the far right of the first pic with those of the eaglets!
EmtyBelfry's photos - March 28, 2008
"WING STRETCH...........................Hey, watch that TALON!"
I had the cam open most of the day, but was away from my desk some. I saw a parent visit the nest occasionally - but didn't see any new food arrive, and only saw a few bites of leftovers being fed. They did have a lot of food yesterday, so that shouldn't be a problem if there's food tomorrow - but I do sort of wonder if Dad's trying to cycle back and forth providing for 2 or 3 nests or what's going on here.
PattiO's photo - March 29, 2008
Mom finally brought some food in early afternoon. The older one got most of the first feeding (note how she(?) has forced the younger one into submission so there's no competition for Mom's attention. There was a bigger fish later and the younger one made its way to the other side and was fed, though it's hard to judge how much either got, as we don't know what happens between camera refreshes.
JudyB's photo - March 29, 2008
I think the black line on the edge of the wing is the feathers starting to come in.
JudyB's photo - March 30, 2008
See how they're developing that prickly look as feathers start to come in!
soph9's photo - March 30, 2008
Big feet!
bociany's photo - March 31, 2008
(older one is four weeks old)
bociany: I had a real panic attack this morning - and I usually don't panic! The older eaglet was more or less sitting on top of the smaller one for the longest time (a few minutes but it seemed longer). I emailed Lisa, who said she thought they were OK, but the older one was pecking the little one. 
Then Mom arrived, but I don't think she brought food. The smaller one jumped up, but is curled submissively at the edge of the nest.
JudyB's photos - April 1, 2008
JudyB: The younger one started out acting submissive in the time-out area, but made his way to another side of the parent, and seemed to be getting most of the food towards the end of the feeding.
JudyB's photo - April 2, 2008
(younger one - on the left - is four weeks old)
bociany's photo - April 3, 2008
EmtyBelfry's photo - April 4, 2008
JudyB's photos - April 4, 2008
JudyB: In some of the pictures, it looks to me as if the younger is almost as big or maybe even bigger than the older one. The older has more feather development and is very clearly the dominant chick in the nest - but I think her position might be at risk if the younger weren't used to going submissive whenever she looks at him.
soph9's photo - April 5, 2008
tsebitai's photos - April 5, 2008
"Looong leg on the younger eaglet - And on the older"
Arles's photos - April 6, 2008
JudyB's photos - April 7, 2008
(older one is five weeks old)
Arles's photo - April 8, 2008
soph9: seems like the little one is trying to help himself!
I checked my website from last year to see when Skye, the well-documented Sidney BC eaglet, first tried to feed himself - and it was just before he was five weeks old! (Sidney Eaglet - Week V)
Sherri's photo - April 8, 2008
Arles's photo - April 9, 2008
Look how much bigger the wings are in just a couple of days!
JudyB's photos - April 9, 2008
(younger one is five weeks old)
Arles's photo - April 10, 2008
EmtyBelfry's photos - April 11, 2008
soph9's photo - April 11, 2008
Arles's photos - April 12, 2008
Looks as if there's a bit more self-feeding being attempted here!
Arles's photos - April 13, 2008
JudyB's photos - April 13, 2008
JudyB's photo - April 14, 2008
(older one is six weeks old)
EmtyBelfry's photo - April 15, 2008
Sherri's photos - April 17, 2008
Looks as if the older one has been sitting more upright like an adult eagle recently.
Arles's photo - April 17, 2008
4/18/08: "Our eaglets are really beginning to work their wings. When they flap, they have to hold onto the nest with their talons, so they don't leave the nest prematurely."
Arles's photos - April 18, 2008
Arles: I have not seen a parent with them during the night for 4 nights in a row now.
Arles's photos - April 19, 2008
Lori's photo - April 20, 2008
Arles's photo - April 21, 2008
(older one is seven weeks old)
JudyB's photo - April 21, 2008
It's hard to tell from the angle - but it looks to me as if the eaglet is nearly as tall as the parent here!
JudyB's photos - April 22, 2008
JudyB's photos - April 23, 2008
(younger one is seven weeks old)
Sherri's photos - April 28, 2008
Arles's photos - April 28, 2008
(older one is eight weeks old)
Update from Friends of Blackwater
4/29/08: "Regarding the eaglets’ size, I’ve been watching the cam over the last week or so to see if we can tell the gender of our chicks now that they’re two months old. It appears to me that they both look about the same size, which seems to indicate we may have two of the same sex. In addition, I’ve been looking at how they compare to the female eagle (the bigger of the parents), and it appears that our eaglets are smaller than she is. We’ll never know for sure the gender of our two youngsters, but based on these images, we might hazard to guess that we have two males."
"Branching Eaglets: Branching is when the eaglets hop out onto the branches of their nest tree and perch there. This activity helps them develop their perching skills (remember they’ve been sitting in the nest all this time) and also gets them acclimated to maneuvering in and out of their nest and around the tree branches.
The loblolly pine tree that holds our web camera — and the eaglets’ home — has several branches for the eaglets to choose from. On our current camera view you can see one of the branches in the upper left corner. Also there is a big branch on the right and a third under (and to the left) of the cam...."
JudyB's photos - April 30, 2008
"Not sure who it is - but there's one tall eaglet in the first picture!"
Sherri's photos - May 1, 2008
"I got this first pic when I checked in.....then the second pic, 'let was gone. I'm wondering whether it branched as it was on that side of the nest vs. the spot where they usually tuck themselves out of sight."
Soph9's photos - May 1, 2008
"...look at their colouring today...."
Sherri's photos - May 3, 2008
"This morning......first you see her .....and then you don't."
I love these "tall eaglet" shots - and look at the shadow on the first one!
Next, I do think there's some mantling going on here - though it does look as if the parent took charge of the food and both were fed:
And finally, I don't have the "before" shot because I didn't know this was going to happen - but I think this is an eaglet flying in from a branch (or at least the outside edge of the nest). There was only one eaglet in the previous refresh - the one on the right (under the wings).
JudyB's photos and comments - May 5, 2008
(older one is nine weeks old)
sandra gee's photos - May 9, 2008
tsebitai's photos - May 12, 2008
(older one is ten weeks old)
"a fish meal ... and ... somebody getting lift?"
Sherri's photo - May 13, 2008
JudyB's photos - May 19, 2008
(older one is eleven weeks old)
"I know you're hiding something under there...."
JudyB's photos - May 19, 2008
"Hard to tell with the 30-second refresh, but it did look as if they're flying in from branches fairly comfortably now!"
Lori's photos - May 23, 2008
"I see a foot up there by the cam and the sibling seems to be looking up and saying, 'Don't you dare jump on me.'
Then on the next refresh, back down into the nest."
JudyB's photos - May 26, 2008
(older one is twelve weeks old)
"Lisa has a new post on the Blackwater web site and she thinks Intrepid (the older one) might have fledged! He's 12 weeks old today, so the time is right! She's guessing Destiny is only branching, as he's still spending more time in the nest. He'll be 12 weeks old May 28."
JudyB's photos - June 2, 2008
(older one is thirteen weeks old)
"I don't know if there was food involved in the second picture or if the one in the nest was just mantling for the fun of it - but the one on the right edge does seem interested.... "
JudyB's photos - June 9, 2008
(older one is fourteen weeks old)
"I watched much of the day and only saw one briefly - so I'm quite sure both have fledged now.
" 
Lori's photo - June 10, 2008
Catherine P's photo from Friends of Blackwater Eagle Gallery - June 18, 2008
(younger one is fifteen weeks old)
Nancy H's photo from Friends of Blackwater Eagle Gallery - June 25, 2008
(younger one is sixteen weeks old)
JudyB's photos - July 1, 2008
(about seventeen weeks old)
"I think the first two pictures show two eaglets. The next refresh showed an empty nest with a fish in the middle of it - not sure if they mantled each other right out of the nest or what! Eventually one came back and ate the fish, then hung around for a while in the nest."
Lori's photos - July 1, 2008
(about seventeen weeks old)
I haven't seen them or found any pictures of the eaglets in the nest after July 1.
Friends of Blackwater stopped broadcasting their Eagle Cam for the season in mid-July.
You can still see the nest at their partner site www.wildcam.com - and might even see an eagle in the nest:
nakota's photo from wildcam.com - July 29, 2008
Or maybe just watch the grass grow!
JudyB's photo - August 6, 2008