Community Corner

Major Drama At The 2019 DC Eagle Cam Nest (Live Feed)

The D.C. Eagle Cam is back, and there's something funny going on: not only is there a new egg, but Justice has gone missing.

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

UPDATE Feb. 23: A number of different adult bald eagles have been paying visits to the nest in Justice's absence.

UPDATE Feb. 20: A second egg has been spotted in the nest, but Justice remains AWOL, and Aaron Burrd is settling in.

Original story:

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WASHINGTON, DC -- Liberty and Justice -- a pair of 21-year-old mating bald eagles who have been nesting in D.C. for around 15 years -- are back to bring up some more offspring this year, and the first egg has been spotted in their nest. But there is some drama: Justice is nowhere to be seen, and Liberty appears to have a new boyfriend.

The birds nest 110 feet above the Metropolitan Police Academy in Southeast D.C., and it is monitored 24/7 by the live Earth Conservation Corps Eagle Cam (embedded below).

Find out what's happening in Washington DCwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

ECC announced this week that the couple's first egg of 2019 had been spotted at 4:46 p.m. on Tuesday. Typically, the couple lays two eggs in a season.

However, ECC has noticed something odd: Justice hasn't been seen at the nest since Feb. 9, which they say is unusual. And Liberty was seen with another male eagle. ECC has taken to calling him "Aaron Burrd" in the meantime.

Liberty, the female, is primarily responsible for incubating her eggs and caring for the chicks, while Justice, the male, catches fish and brings them to his family.

It should take 35-40 days for an egg to hatch, which would put it at mid to late March. Sometimes eggs are non-viable, however, so it's not a sure thing.

ECC will anxiously await the arrival of an expected second egg, which usually comes just a few days after the first one.

This bald eagle couple is a major success story for the District. There were no bald eagle nests in D.C. for more than half a century until 1999, when bald eagles Monique and Tink established the first nest. Liberty and Justice arrived in 2005, and a third pair set up a nest at the National Arboretum in 2015.

Keep checking back to this story throughout the winter and spring to watch the drama unfold.


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