WASHINGTON — It’s happening: Eagle watchers Wednesday evening caught a glimpse of a freshly laid egg inside the nest D.C.’s famous bald eagle pair Liberty and Justice have called home for more than 10 years.
Liberty started laying the egg around 6 p.m. Wednesday and the first sighting came at 6:38 p.m., said Tommy Lawrence, with the Earth Conservation Corps in an email to WTOP.
You can get the full viewing eggs-perience yourself on the corps’ live Eagle Cam.
Liberty could still lay up to two more eggs. The second egg is expected by Saturday evening and the third — if there is one — by Monday evening.
“Liberty on average lays two eggs a year, so a third would be an exception!” Lawrence said.
“Right now, we think that we should expect a second egg as Liberty is ‘stalling’ incubation,” Lawrence said. “She is staying off the egg a little longer just to keep its temperature cooler until the second egg is laid to keep hatch times closer.”
That would be beneficial because eaglets in the nest that are closer in age aren’t as competitive, he said.
Until the egg hatches, it’s officially called EGG3. After it breaks out of its shell, Lawrence said the conservation corps is hoping to have its partner organization, the Wisconsin-based Eagles4Kids as well as D.C. schools, come up with a name.
The egg is expected to hatch between March 14 and 20 — about 35 days after being laid.
Last year, Liberty laid two eggs in early February, one of which hatched the following month and was named Spirit. In 2016, Liberty laid two eggs, which hatched in March and were named Mary and Jimb.
Liberty and Justice have nested in an oak tree 110 feet in the air on the grounds of the D.C. police academy in Southwest D.C. for the past 11 years.
