For the third year in a row, bald eagles have hatched naturally on Santa Cruz Island! In early April 2008, viewers of the live nest cam tuned in to watch as two chicks pecked their way out of their shells.

Biologists are hopeful these births indicate a comeback for the bald eagle on California's northern Channel Islands. Nature.org spoke with Peter Sharpe and Dave Rempel, biologists with the Institute for Wildlife Studies, to find out more about eagle restoration efforts and the two eagle chicks featured in the live nest cam.

Nature.org: How many eagle chicks were born in the wild on the Channel Islands this year?

Peter Sharpe: We had ten chicks hatch naturally — four chicks in two different nests on Santa Cruz Island, and six chicks in four nests on Catalina Island.

Nature.org: Is this an increase from last year?

Peter Sharpe: Yes, the number of chicks hatched in nests is higher this year — in fact, we've had twice as many hatch naturally this year. We had five hatch in 2007 and have had ten so far this year.

Nature.org: With so many chicks to monitor, how busy are you and your staff? What's a typical day like?

Dave Rempel: We're still actively looking for new bald eagle nests on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands, as well as monitoring the known nests.

A typical day in the field includes hiking to remote parts of the island or cruising the shoreline in our small inflatable boat to look for adult bald eagles. Or monitoring one of the active nests through a spotting scope from several hundred yards away.

Nature.org: Two chicks were born in the Santa Cruz Island Pelican Harbor nest. Is it a tougher job for the parents to raise two chicks at once? And are the chances of survival the same for two chicks as for one?

Peter Sharpe: The adults will have to supply more food to the nest. Generally speaking, a single chick has a higher chance of surviving than one with siblings because there is no competition for food. But if there is good food availability, both chicks should do well.

Nature.org: It looks like one of the chicks is getting more food and growing bigger than the other. Is this anything to be concerned about?

Peter Sharpe: It's normal for there to be a dominant chick. As long as there is enough food for both, they will be fine.

Nature.org: When do you expect to band the chicks?

Dave Rempel: We will band the Pelican Harbor chicks during the last week of May. Last year, viewers of the live nest cam were able to watch live as we went into the nest and retrieved the eaglets for banding — we hope to do the same again this year. (See video from last year's banding.)

Nature.org: Is it more difficult to go in and band when there are two eaglets in the nest?

Dave Rempel: It's a little more complicated getting two chicks out of the nest. But once we have them safely on the ground, banding two chicks is only slightly more work than banding one.

Nature.org: When might they fledge the nest?

Dave Rempel: The chicks in the Pelican Harbor nest on Santa Cruz Island will fledge sometime near the end of June.

Nature.org: With all this success, it seems like restoration efforts might not be needed anymore. How do you decide when to stop the program and let nature take its course?

Peter Sharpe: Although we have had successful reproduction, the eagles aren't out of the woods yet.

We had two of four nests on the northern Channel Islands fail before hatching, and the third lost their chicks a couple weeks after hatching. Our concern is that these young birds may eventually pick up too much DDE contamination to be able to reproduce successfully.

On the northern Channel Islands the goal is to let nature take its course. We are only monitoring the nests to determine their outcome. On Catalina Island we are allowing more and more nests to keep their eggs each year (as opposed to retrieving the eggs and hatching them in the hatchery).

All in all, things are definitely looking more hopeful than they were just a few years ago.

Learn more! Peter Sharpe discusses the developmental stages of eagles in this Q&A about the eagle chick born in 2007 on Santa Cruz Island.

Nature picture credits (left to right): Photo © James Martin (Santa Cruz Island); Photo © Institute for Wildlife Studies (chicks and parents in nest).