Eagle egg no. 2 laid at 7:18 p.m. Sunday. See the first photo

 

The second egg of the 2016 was laid in the Berry eagles’ nest around 7:17 or 7:18 p.m. as shown in this photo by Julie Lough and posted on the eagles’ Facebook page Sunday evening. Watch and listen live by clicking eagle cam. Based on last year’s cycle, the second egg was right on time. The first of 2016 was laid on Thursday afternoon. Three days later, no. 2 arrived. In 2015, the eggs were laid Jan. 6 and Jan. 9.

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By Sarah O’Carroll for Hometown Headlines

Eyeballs have been glued to the Berry College eagle cam all week in anticipation of the famous avian pair laying their eggs for the third year in the nest behind Krannert Center. The first egg made its debut Thursday afternoon at 5:28. From the eagles’ Facebook page: “The Berry College eagles announce the arrival of the first egg of 2016! The egg was laid around 5:28 p.m. EST. A second egg would be expected within three days.”

The first egg last year appeared on Jan. 6, followed by a second on Jan. 9, says Dr. Renee Carleton, an associate professor of biology at Berry and the college’s resident expert on bald eagles. Though bald eagles are capable of producing one to three eggs per year, the Berry eagles have so far produced two eggs each year, she says.

Once the eggs appear, a 33- to 35-day incubation period will begin, making a mid- to late-February hatching likely. The eaglets will grow in the nest, venturing onto adjoining branches and stretching their wings, until they fledge — leave the nest. Last year’s eaglets fledged on May 10 and May 12.

The mating process

Although eagles mate throughout the year, the female is not fertile until a “peak period” that begins in October, a time when she begins making alterations to the nest such as adding “crib rails” and a bowl-like area into which to deposit the eggs.

When this period occurs depends on latitude and it is triggered by the amount of sunlight, Carleton says.

“Eagles up north, like in New York or Wisconsin, might night even produce until February,” she says.

New gear

There are two “Nest Cams,” both of which were replaced in August. The cameras, made by Axis, were chosen for their capacity to facilitate constant streaming, says Eddie Elsberry, director of agricultural operations and sustainability at Berry.

“The cameras we used in the past were top quality but [they] were not designed to stream 24/7 like we’re doing it now,” Elsberry says.

Both cameras have sound capabilities but only one camera’s audio is on at any one time to minimize interference, he says.

Elsberry, who describes Berry’s 27,000-acre campus as a “living laboratory,” says the cameras provide a unique educational experience to their increasingly diverse audiences.

“How many people have actually seen a pair of bald eagles mating? Yet we have all that right here on display,” he says.

Adds Carleton: “We’ve had people from Japan, Israel, Australia, Europe — people all over the globe are tuning in.”