Story behind the chicks in this nest…  Most songbirds lay an egg every 1-2 days, until all eggs are laid.  Only then do parents begin to incubate.  This causes all babies to be the same age, hatching within a short time of each other.  But eagles, like all raptors and owls, begin incubating as soon as the first egg is laid.  Usually there are 2-3 eggs per nest, laid several days apart.  This means one chick will hatch earlier than each successive sibling, and be older and stronger. 

In good years, with enough food for everyone, the youngest still gets enough to eat.  They all grow strong and survive to fledge together.  However, in lean years, the strongest and most vocal chick gets the most food, and the younger ones get weaker and weaker until they starve or are killed by the older chick.  Nature’s way insures at least one chick will survive. 

In this nest, it’s a good year.  The older chick has had his meal and with crop full, moves off, distracted by his father approaching the nest with another fish.  Meanwhile, the youngest chick, seizing his turn, is begging to be fed.

(Dimensions approximate for larger chick.)