cairistiona | Another eagle update...

ellynn_ithilwen updated her LJ here just yesterday, and I thought I'd show you how much change those little guys have gone through in just a day!

In her screencap, you'll see all three eaglets still have a lot of the grey "baby down feathers" but today, suddenly, the two oldest eaglets are sporting a LOT of shiny new black adolescent feathers! It's almost as thought they molted overnight. Look closely at the eaglet on the far right and you'll see the tail feathers coming in. (Edit with a slight correction/clarification: they don't actually molt the fuzzy grey down; the dark feathers grow in over it and cover it up.) They look white here, but they'll grow in dark; they won't get the signature white head and tail and golden beak and eyes for another 4-5 years, when they reach sexual maturity.

This is Mom in the nest, and the youngest eaglet, referred to on the Raptor Resource Project site as D14 (they don't anthropomorphize, being a scientific research project), is the grey and black one collapsed in a food coma at the bottom of the photo, I don't know which of the two dark ones is the oldest (D12) and second oldest (D13)--I can't tell them apart, so I just think of them as Elladan and Elrohir (since I'm not a scientist, I can anthropomorphize)! It'd be funny if they were both males and the youngest a female. Then she'd definitely be Arwen, though I don't know that Arwen ever collapsed so gracelessly after a meal....)

Baby is ready for his close-up, Mr. DeMille!

Mom and Dad are leaving the eaglets by themselves more and more, taking moments to sit and enjoy the view. And watch for food and nesting material. Right after I snapped this screencap, Mom Eagle (on the right) flew off and came back immediately with a big stick that she added to the nest's "side rails", then flew off for more. Toddler-proofing the house!

Do you see Shadowfax waaaaay down on the farm? *g*

Watch live here.

Edit! I have to add this photo of one of the older two stretching his wings, which are really starting to look like proper wings now that the feathers are coming in: