I noticed the exciting news on the Sidney Nest Forum not long after I got up (living in Cranbrook and being on MST we are an hour ahead) so e-mailed two parents to have their children spread the word. I'm sure there will be great excitement in class tomorrow!!

6:17 pm
Here's Sidney eaglet now 12 hours old.

Good Morning Teachers and Students

Here is a video for you to watch of the eaglets first day yesterday. It’s very strong and active for just being hours old. This will be so much fun to watch as it grows each day, they grow very fast and become more and more entertaining with their antics.

I hope you all enjoy this…

Eaglets’ First Day

We all appreciate the helpful comments, pictures and videos from various interested people about Sidney Eaglet!!

Yes, there was a positive hum all day whenever the word "eaglet" came up in discussion. We added what we know about a newly hatched eaglet to our Baby Eaglet web. Math involved measuring "our wingspans" and making a decorative wingspan for everyone using a carefully measured strip of paper, then decorating it with the person's wingspan length, name and eagle pictures/ideas.

When I went on www. hancockwildlife.org yesterday, I saw the two eagles.They were standing around the nest feeding the baby worms. Then one of the eagles flew away and did something. Then the other eagle sat on the baby. It interested me because when one of the eagles fiew away, I think that it may have gone looking for more food.

Cali E. (Mr. Wilson's Grade 3 Class)

Hi Cali E
I'm so happy that you had a chance to watch our new eaglet at Sidney nest the day it hatched.

What you saw the adults feeding the eaglet yesterday was raw fish. Mom and Dad give the eaglet the same food that they themselves eat. Eaglets are much bigger than other baby birds and are capable of digesting much bigger pieces of food than worms. Worms are very small and wouldn't make much of a meal for an eagle.

Usually one adult will stay on the nest with the eaglet at all times. Mom and Dad take turns "brooding" (sitting on the eaglet to keep it warm and protected).

When either of the adults leave the nest it is usually to hunt for food or to sit in a nearby perch tree to keep an eye out for predators. That way they are free to chase off unwanted predators without worrying about leaving the eaglet alone on the nest.
You'll see that Mom and Dad are both very good parents. They both look after the eaglet and they both hunt for food.

If you have more questions just give us a shout.

I found a picture of a baby eagle. This one is likely a week or two old which will give you an idea of how big they really are.

Here are some questions we have about how a baby eaglet eats.

If it can't see for the first week or so, how is it able to eat?

Does the eaglet use its sense of smell to help it eat?

Do the mom and dad mush up the food for it to eat?

Does it cheep to tell its parents it is hungry?

Thanks!!

Mr. Wilson's Grade 3 Class

Good morning, Mr. Wilson's class!

I need to do a little research, but I think that eaglets don't see clearly for the first week or so - but they can see well enough to find where their Mom or Dad is standing and look that way to be fed. When you watch the eaglet being fed, you can see that the adult reaches down so the food is very close, and then the eaglet takes the food from the parent.

Eaglets don't have a sense of smell, or perhaps it's very weak. And because they are scavengers and sometimes eat things like dead skunks - maybe it's a good thing that they don't have a sense of smell!

The parents don't mush up the food - but they do pull off very tiny pieces to feed little chicks.

And yes - little eaglets cheep a lot when they want the adults to feed them!

Thank you for your questions - and I hope you enjoy your eagle activities today.