WELCOME BABY EAGLE! First eaglet hatches in southeast DC nest

WASHINGTON - DC has a new eaglet! The baby eagle hatched early Wednesday afternoon in a nest that is situated 110 feet above the ground in an oak tree at the Metropolitan Police Academy in southeast DC.

The mother eagle, Liberty, and father eagle, Justice, have been raising eaglets for 11 years in that location. A crack was spotted in one of two eggs Tuesday, and around 12:30 pm, the egg hatched. It happened in full view of those who were watching the live eagle cam at the time-- and of course, excitement ensued.

Watch the live camera on YouTube!

Liberty and Justice have been busy protecting the eggs all week, amid the freezing cold temperatures. The eggs were expected to hatch sometime between March 14 and March 20.

The live web cam is made possible by Earth Conservation Corps and the Metropolitan Police Department, and is in its seventh year. Earth Conservation Corps brought eagles back to DC in 1994, and at the time, they hadn't been spotted in the city since 1946. ECC released 16 eagles from the National Arboretum between 1994-1996. Then, in 1999, a nesting pair returned, and ECC currently has three eagle nests in the DC area.

The group recently held a contest to name the soon-to-be eaglets, and voting closed Tuesday night at 9 pm. According to their website, Acting DC Police Chief Peter Newsham and former DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier are on the panel of judges who will decide which names are the winners.

For more information, go to www.eaglecam.org.

Another pair of eagle parents are also waiting for new eaglets to hatch. Mr. President and The First Lady have been busy guarding their nest at the National Arboretum. You can watch them at www.dceaglecam.org.