Editor’s note: The 2018 season of eagle watching and hatching has arrived. Bookmark this site to view Liberty and Justice tend their eggs and new fledglings: https://www.arconic.com/global/en/who-we-are/eagle-cam.asp. Scroll all the way down to see viewer tracking of five fledglings and viewer commentary, video, and screenshots.
Liberty monitors two eaglets from 2017 in the seven-foot-diameter aerie, above Arconic Davenport Works, Riverdale, IA, near the Mississippi River. The first egg of 2018 was laid on Friday, February 15. It is estimated a second egg could be laid as early today, Saturday, February 17, or Sunday, February 18.
John Riches, spokesman for the Riverdale aluminum plant, said footage from the Arconic Eaglecam suggests that the female eagle, Liberty, laid the egg between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.
He said fans of Eaglecam have written on the blog about seeing the egg although as of mid-Friday he had not seen it for himself. “Based on their behavior, they’re clearly taking care of an egg,” said Riches, who authors the Eaglecam blog. “They’re sitting down in there and incubating something.”
The adult eagles have captured attention around the globe, thanks to Eaglecam, which has had nearly 35 million web visits since its inception. First installed in the fall of 2010, by then Alcoa Davenport Works, the web camera and its live feed from the nest was rolled out to the public in early 2011.
Libety and Justice have fledged 14 eaglets in the nest; 12 have been named by Eaglecam fans. One of the 12 did not survive. Start making a list to submit, if you choose, but skip these. They are flying high: Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Freedom, Spirit, Hope, Faith, Honor, Glory, Rudy (named to honor deceased Davenport, IA, Police Sergeant Kevin Marxen), Star, and Sky.