It’s hard not to hear the increasing sounds of bird life while outside this time of year. The drumming of woodpeckers and the calling of various birds are very evident. Other species of birds will arrive soon in our area to start breeding. 

Yet, one well known species got an early start on breeding, laying eggs during the late winter and contending with keeping those eggs warm enough to survive: the bald eagle.

Most of the area bald eagle nests start incubating around the beginning of March. With an incubation period of 35 days, that means they hatch around the middle of April. 

This spring, it looks as though the young I see are a little more developed and larger for this time, by about two weeks on the average; this past winter was milder than usual, and some of the eagle pairs could have gotten an early start with incubation. Some pairs have been known to be on eggs in late February. 

Bald eagle young need plenty of time in the spring and summer to develop and reach the stage where they are independent enough to fend for themselves and survive their first winter.

After hatching, an eaglet needs about 12 weeks to develop enough to be able to fledge from the nest; usually this happens during the first part of July. In this timeframe, the eaglet has grown from a few ounces in weight to 10-12 pounds, with a wingspan of over six feet. 

Eagle young spend the next few weeks improving their flight skills and learning how to catch prey. The adults will feed and even let the young fledglings steal food from them at first; the adults become less tolerant of this with time. The young are largely on their own by September.

You might spot eagle fledglings flying around nest areas starting in July. After a couple of weeks, they will venture a little further away from the nest. You might even see a couple of nest siblings cavorting in the air, displaying talons. They are playing and developing the skills that they will need in the near future and as adults. If luck is with them, these same young will be seen in the region in four to five years as adults rearing their own young eaglets.

Scott Rando is a naturalist and outdoor person. He has been writing for the River Reporter since 2006.