KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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Because of a 24/7 livestream camera, viewers have seen bald eagle parents Liberty and Freedom go through the process from nesting to laying eggs, hatching and parenting.
Unfortunately, one of the eaglets appears to have died, leaving two in the nest. This is common for the animal's life cycle and efforts to survive, which is why they lay more than one egg, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
While eagles typically mate for life, they do not have emotional attachments to their young as humans do. MDC media specialist Erin Woodiel said the animals, like many, are solely trying to keep their species alive.
The remaining two eaglets will fight for food and survival as they grow. The third eaglet to hatch is considered the runt, according to Woodiel, and will have to work hard from here on out to keep up with its sibling.
Woodiel explained what to expect next. For the next couple of weeks, the eaglets will stay fluffy but continue to grow.
They will get stronger and eat larger bites of food, and eventually stop being "bobble heads" in the nest. Later, they will grow different feathers.
"Once they get beyond kind of that chick stage, and they start with the fledgling, then they might start hopping around the edge of the nest," Woodiel said. "They might occasionally go out onto the tree limbs. And you'll see they can't quite fly, but they can at least ... you can tell they want to. They're excited, they're exploring a little bit further."
The goal of the camera is to show people what is going on in parts of nature not easily seen. It has shown viewers the life of a bald eagle, from seeing what it eats and when to how the two adults co-parent.
MDC noted that if people care about the eagles, they also want them to care about conservation.
That means avoiding littering and disposing of toxic materials. Some reasons the bald eagle population declined drastically in the 1900s were due to loss of habitat, trapping and poisoning. That is why MDC urges hunters to avoid using lead shot so the bird does not get lead poisoning from consuming a carcass.
People can always check in on Liberty and Freedom, and now their eaglets, via the YouTube livestream.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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