Feeding the eaglets

 

   The Rev. Robert and Holly Mehltretter ventured out to the bald eagle nest on the Minnesota River along Seven Mile Creek Park (see earlier post for directions) to find the parents busy feeding newly hatched eaglets.
  How many young there are in the nest won't be known for about a month when the eaglets began walking and venturing out to the edge of the nest.   
  It takes a couple of days for an eaglet to break their way out of the egg, and once they do they're hungry.
The parents spend most of their time finding food for the babies, carrying a fish, duck or other animal to the nest, then shredding it to pieces and offering morsels to the eaglets.
  Holly’s photo shows one eagle, fish in claws, headed to the nest and the parents then get busy pulling it apart and offering pieces to the young. 
  The eagles ball their talons into a fist when they walk around the nest to avoid killing the young.
  The babies will grow fast, packing on a pound or more every week, but they won't be ready for their first, dangerous, flight until early or mid June.