WASHINGTON 鈥� Four days after the female bald eagle at the National Arboretum laid her first egg of 2017, she’s聽done it again.
A little before 4:30 p.m. Thursday, The First Lady laid her second egg of 2017, and the American Eagle Foundation鈥檚 Eagle Cam caught it all.
Julia Cecere, of the eagle foundation, said in a statement Thursday that the incubation countdown lasts about 35 days, so between the two eggs in the past week, they鈥檙e hoping for new eaglets by April Fools鈥� Day.
In 2016, the Arboretum eagles 鈥� The First Lady and Mr. President 鈥� gave birth to two eaglets, named Freedom and Liberty after a public poll chose their names. In 2015, they raised DC1.
Eagles generally lay one or two eggs in the course of a season, said Tommy Wells, director of D.C.鈥檚 Department of Energy and the Environment. Three is not impossible, though 鈥� Cecere notes in the statement that their nest is a bit bigger than last year.
鈥淲atching three eaglets raised in one nest would be such a thrill for viewers everywhere,鈥� Cecere said.
New eggs or not, the wait now begins. The eagles have to keep constant watch over their eggs, and while the weather is pretty nice as of Thursday, it won鈥檛 necessarily stay that way.
Mr. President and the First Lady aren鈥檛 the only expectant eagle parents in D.C., said Wells. There are four eagle nests in the District, and they鈥檙e actively monitoring three.
One nest by the MPD training center at the southern tip of the District has two eggs, laid Feb. 4 and Feb. 8, Wells said, adding that they鈥檙e hoping for 鈥渃hicks as early as St. Patrick鈥檚 Day.鈥�
Freedom and Liberty 鈥渁re doing great,鈥� Wells said.
The eagles are cool enough by themselves, he said, but they鈥檙e also a symbol of a reviving ecosystem.
The nest at the Arboretum, Wells said, 鈥渉as successfully raised healthy eagles feeding almost entirely on the Anacostia River. We鈥檙e kind of bringing back a sustainable, healthy habitat again. We鈥檝e got a ways to go, but the eagles are an indicator that we鈥檙e making great progress.鈥�
You can follow the eagles鈥� and eggs鈥� progress on the at the Arboretum, which Wells notes has sound for the first time this year.
草莓传媒’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
