Rescued Eagle Egg Hatches

(Scottsdale, Ariz.) – A new eaglet has hatched from one of two eggs rescued by the Arizona Game and Fish Department in February. The second bald eagle egg is in the process of hatching. A bald eagle rescue team took the eggs to Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation for incubation last month after the male parent was found severely injured near a recreation area along the lower

Salt River. The adult eagle had to be euthanized.

“Liberty Wildlife did a great job of nurturing these eggs,” says James Driscoll, a biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “The hatching process takes a lot of energy. A female eagle cannot go through it alone.”

The incubation period for a bald eagle egg is about a month. The young eagles will be raised at Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation in Scottsdale for another four to five weeks. Then they will be placed into existing bald eagle nests to be reared by foster parents.

“It’s really important for us to get these eagles back into the nest as soon as possible,” Driscoll says. “This time frame is vital in helping the young eagles learn to fly, hunt, and fish from adult eagles. It also plays a role in making sure that other birds will accept them.”

Arizona currently has 41 breeding pairs of bald eagles. This type of eagle can live up to 25 years in the wild and can grow to have a six- to seven-foot wingspan.