Third ‘Pip’ Spotted In Hays’ Bald Eagles Nest Days After First 2 Hatchings

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A pip in the third egg has appeared three days after the hatchings of the first two Hays eaglets.

(Photo Courtesy: PixController/Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania)

Expert eagle watchers spotted the pip on the third egg at 9:46 a.m. on Friday. The egg has been incubating for 35 days.

A “pip” is a “visual sign of a hatch in progress,” says the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. The time from pip to hatching takes about 12-48 hours.

The first two eggs hatched on Tuesday more than 16 hours apart.

• WATCH LIVE: Hays Bald Eagle Cam

The Audubon Society says the newly hatched eaglets likely weigh about 3.5 ounces.

The fuzzy babies are covered in soft gray down that will eventually be replaced by thermal down in about 14 days. That means the babies cannot initially maintain their own body temperature.

It takes about nine days for eaglets to develop better eyesight.