Snow forces early eagle incubation

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Because of the cold, snowy weather, the female Eagle at Norfolk Botanical Garden has begun incubation early.

The nesting bald eagles welcomed the first egg of the season into a snow-filled nest on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 2:15 PM.

Eagles will often delay incubation until all of the eggs are laid. This helps ensure that the young hatch more closely together - keeping the youngest hatchlings from being too disadvantaged.

Even in relatively cool whether the eggs remain viable for some time without incubation, but a nest full if snow is another matter altogether. To keep the egg from being excessively chilled the female has begun incubation. The hope is that the eagle's body heat will melt the snow and keep the egg warm.

"The snowy weather represents a challenge that this pair doesn't often have to deal with, but that bald eagles as a species are well adapted for. Some have asked if the female would wait until better weather conditions to lay her first egg - unfortunately once the process has begun and an egg has entered the female's oviduct there is no stopping it," said Watchable Wildlife Biologist Stephen Living, from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The normal incubation period between the laying and the hatching is between 35 and 38 days, according to Research Associate for the Center for Conservation Biology, Reese Lukei. "For this egg, only time will tell," said Lukei.

This is the seventh nesting season for this pair of eagles at Norfolk Botanical Garden. Visitors to the Garden can view the nest from the ground and from on top of the NATO Tower. The eagles can be seen perched in the surrounding trees, in the nest and flying back and forth from their fishing trips.