Hanover eagle lays first egg of the year
Break out the cigars and champagne — the Hanover eagles welcomed their first offspring of 2017.
The female eagle laid the inaugural egg of the season in the nest near Codorus State Park on Friday around 5:46 p.m., the Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed on Facebook.
This year marks the third nesting season available to watch through an online livestream provided by the game commission and HDOnTap. Through this, thousands of raptor enthusiasts can watch a microcosm of the animal kingdom play out in real time.
After a successful fledgling in 2015, last year saw the matriarch lay two eggs, but neither survived. The first eaglet hatched and died days later, while the second egg never hatched and was eventually eaten by one of the eagles.
For approximately the next 35 days, the eagles will take turn keeping their egg, or eggs, warm. That means a hatching can be expected around March 17.
Bald eagles usually lay between one and three eggs, known as a clutch, each season, according to eagle experts.
As much as a week can pass between the first two eggs being laid. They will hatch in the same order they were laid.
Biologists believe about 50 percent of eaglets successfully fledge from the nest, as Hanover eagle cam fanatics know all too well after last year.
Avid watchers are hoping for a more successful outcome in 2017. And that begins with the tennis ball-sized egg that arrived in the nest this evening.