Eaglets Hatched At Channel Islands National Park

In this screen capture from the park's eagle cam, K10 is seen keeping his eaglets warm.

Forgive the staff at Channel Islands National Park if they popped open some champagne this past weekend. It turns out that a pair of bald eagles on Santa Cruz Island are the parents of two eaglets.

The parents, K-10 and K-26, started to welcome their brood into the world on Saturday, when the first hatched about 7:30 a.m. The second showed up Monday morning not too long before noon. This same pair of eagles made history in 2006 when they became the first bald eagles to successfully reproduce on the California Channel Islands in nearly 50 years.

But K-10 and K-26 still have a job to do. The female, K-26, will stay in the nest almost constantly to ensure the safety of her downy children, who are partially blind and largely helpless, park biologists say. For his part, K-10 will make excursions to find food to bring back to the Pelican Harbor nest for his growing family, they add.

The eaglets will grow rapidly, but it will be a couple months before it’s ready to take to the air on its own. Those eager for eaglet views can continue to follow mating season with the bald eagle cam. You can also catch the eaglet’s coming-out party online at the eagle discussion board.