American bald eagles Liberty and Justice successfully sheltered a pair of eggs through raw winter weather, from February to early April 2019. Their devotion to the nest was rewarded with two new offspring, bringing their total to 16 births since they became a pair in 2009. Liberty first laid an egg in 2010; it did not survive. Their nest is on the Alcoa Company’s Davenport[, IA,] Works property.
Alcoa spokesman John Riches stated Liberty, the female, is considerably larger than Justice. She also seems to spend most of “the night shift” in the aerie high above the Mississippi River. To watch the spring ritual, copy and bookmark this link to the site: https://www.arconic.com/eaglecam/.
The incubation period is about 35 days.
- On Sunday, February 24, at about 2:30 p.m., Liberty laid her first egg of the season. It hatched 39 days later, on Wednesday, April 3.
- Click here to watch a short video of the first eaglet breaking its shell: https://arconic.typepad.com/files/egg-open-4-3-2019.mov.
- The second egg appeared on Wednesday, February 27, shortly after 5:00 p.m. and broke from its shell 36 days later, on Friday, April 5.
In ten years’ time Liberty and Justice hatched 14 eaglets, usually in batches of two. Twice they laid three eggs.
The first two eaglets fledged in summer 2010 before [Arconic] installed the camera and they were never named. The 12 that fledged since then were named Freedom; Spirit, Faith, and Hope; Honor and Glory; Rudy; Star and Sky; Apollo, Gemini, and Mercury.
- The eaglet of 2011 was named Freedom.
- The three born in 2012 were Faith, Hope, and Spirit.
- Honor and Glory came in 2013.
- In 2014, the lone eaglet was named Rudy, to honor late Davenport Police Sergeant Kevin “Rudy” Marxen, who died in February.
- 2015 produced no hatch.
- 2016 brought Star and Sky.
- Apollo, Gemini, and Mercury were launched in 2017.
- In 2018, two eggs were laid, but they produced no live offspring.
Start thinking of names to submit. Voting will be open in late April, according to Riches.