An eagle chick has hatched at the Lake Casitas Recreation Area near Ojai, and it’s possible there is more than one baby.
Because there is no live nest camera to capture the action, the hatch on April 6 was confirmed based on the behavior of the parents, Mr. Majestic and Hannah.
Judy Spaar-Hillewaert, the longtime eagle watcher and photographer who monitors the raptors daily, watched from a path at the base of Eagle Hill as Hannah tended to the egg.
Rangers restrict human access to the habitat, meaning the closest viewing point is far below the eucalyptus trees that the eagles call home.
But the nest is more exposed than in past years. Spaar-Hillewaert couldn’t see the chick or the egg but she could track the mother eagle’s every action.
“It’s pretty fascinating,” she said, describing how Hannah appeared to roll and aerate the egg. “I knew the moment of the hatch.”
Mr. Majestic flew in almost immediately with grass for the nest. Later, he flew to the lake, captured a fish and returned.
“He flew over my head, and he delivered it to the nest and that’s confirmation,” Spaar-Hillewaert said, noting tiny pieces of the fish were used to feed the eaglet.
Because two eggs are more common for eagles than one with the second usually coming 12 hours to 48 hours after the first, it’s possible the chick already is fussing with a sibling. It’s also possible there could be a third egg hatched though that would be a first for the Lake Casitas eagles.
“I would totally faint,” Spaar-Hillewaert said of a trio of chicks.
Majestic has been a presence at the lake for some 16 years and is believed to have had 18 offspring including the just-hatched chick. Hannah emerged at the lake six years ago after the male eagle’s previous mate died following an attack by an intruding eagle.
The pair have faced challenges. Last year, the nest was damaged in a storm. Eggs laid by Hannah fell to the ground and were damaged. The eagles repaired the nest and so far it has held up.
Majestic and Hannah are believed to be one of the only nesting pairs of eagles in mainland Ventura County. Three baby eagles were hatched off the coast on Santa Cruz Island with the last of the trio hatched on April 1. People can follow the eagles on an online video feed.
Jackie and Shadow, the Big Bear eagles that have captivated a worldwide audience, are also the parents of two chicks that hatched in early April. The pair lost their first clutch of eggs, laid in January, after ravens breached the nest.
At Lake Casitas, the number of chicks likely won’t be known until the eaglets grow large enough to venture into parts of the nest that are visible with binoculars or a telephoto lens from the viewing area.
For now, Hannah will spend most of the time in the nest brooding and feeding her offspring. Majestic has a different role, said Peter Sharpe, retired wildlife biologist who worked with the nonprofit Institute for Wildlife Studies in Humboldt County.
“The male tends to do more of the food deliveries at least for the first couple of weeks until the chicks get older,” he said in a phone interview from Catalina Island.
As they grow older, the babies will flap their wings furiously in the nest. Males usually attempt to fly in about 10 weeks after birth. Females wait a little longer, Sharpe said.
After they first fly, the birds usually stay close to their parents for another month or longer before leaving on their own.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: It’s baby time for Lake Casitas eagles as at least one chick hatches
Reporting by Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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