Eaglet Hatched On Eagle Cam — Baby Born To Bird Parents ‘Mr. President’ And ‘First Lady’

An eaglet in Washington D.C. has no idea he’s a world-wide reality star.

His birth was captured on a live eagle cam on Friday. Fascinated bird-lovers all over the globe watched as the fuzzy, floppy little bird hatched in the U.S. National Arboretum.

The eaglet’s parents are aptly named “Mr. President” and “First Lady,” The Washington Post reported. They hatched an eaglet last year, which they’ve raised together, and First Lady laid two more eggs in February.

One eaglet hatched bright and early at 8:27 a.m. Friday and the other is expected to hatch this weekend. That baby’s arrival will also be captured on the eagle cam.

The American Eagle Foundation confirmed the birth with much excitement. The organization’s president, Al Cecere, called it a “very special time in the nest.”

“To witness the up-close process of an eaglet breaking through its shell and being fed by its parents for the first time is wonderfully heartwarming.”

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The eagle mom and dad started nesting in the arboretum in October 2014. This was a big deal because their nest is the first seen in this location since 1947.

The first egg was laid on Feb. 10 and the second on Valentine’s Day, both in a nest high in a tulip poplar tree located in the azalea area of the property off New York Avenue NE. The eagle cam clicked on and experts on the foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture started doing some math.

The incubation period is an estimated 35 days, which put the day for it to be hatched at Wednesday. Experts have been keeping a close eye on the parents and their eggs via the cam, watching as they took turns nesting. Both mom and dad have spent a lot of time standing, straightening the nest, and rolling the eggs to distribute heat.

And then, right on schedule, a tiny beak peaked out about 7 p.m. Wednesday. This is called a “pip,” or a crack in the shell as the eaglet makes its way out of the egg. It’s the first sign the eaglet is breathing outside air.

From this point, it usually takes up to 48 hours for the eaglet to be hatched completely.

Julia Cecere, daughter to the foundation’s president, watched the pip on the eagle cam and said, “We were wondering is it a pip or not?” But by 10 p.m., the crack was clear on the cam and the process had officially begun.

“It is making its way out of the egg slowly. You’ll see eyes, then its face and then other things. We’re excited to see it appears to be healthy so far.”

And many other people were watching as the eaglet hatched, eagerly awaiting the first signs of the new baby. According to Voice of America, Washingtonians have been fascinated with the eagles ever since they nested, and thanks to the eagle cam, people as far away as Holland, like Raisa Harkema, got to watch.

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“Wow! It’s amazing to see this from the other side of the world!” she exclaimed.

Facebook and social media swarmed with a running commentary as the eaglet hatched until, finally, the moment everyone was waiting for came at 8:15 a.m.

“A lot of grey downy feathers are now visible, so it must be making a lot of progress!” The American Eagle Foundation, which was monitoring the cam footage, posted on Facebook.

By 8:27 a.m., the new life was finally brought into the world and the eaglet confirmed to be out and alive. So far, experts don’t know much about the baby because its parents are sitting on the nest, obscuring the fuzzy little bird.

For now, it’ll be called “DC2” and its soon-to-be-hatched sibling “DC3.” The public will be given the honor of naming them and eventually they’ll get a leg band for identification and have some blood samples drawn.

“This is an awesome chance to view nature as it happens,” said wildlife biologist Dan Rauch. “We’ll be able to follow the eagles from their first emergence to their first flight. This is real reality TV.”

Watch as the second eaglet is hatched on the eagle cam here.