First Eaglet Egg Hatches at National Arboretum

The D.C. area has another new eaglet!

The egg, which is known as DC4, hatched Wednesday at the U.S. National Arboretum. Its sibling, DC5, is expected to hatch in the next few days, the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) announced on Facebook.

DC4 and DC5 were laid Feb. 19 and Feb. 23 in a nest at the top of a tulip poplar tree at the arboretum. Since then, their parents have taken turns incubating the eggs, even during a frosty late-season snowstorm earlier this month.

The new eaglet is the fourth offspring of its parents, called Mr. President and The First Lady -- the first bald eagle pair to nest at the Arboretum since 1947. They first nested at the site in 2015, raising one eaglet. Last season, they raised two, initially called DC2 and DC3 before they received their official names of Freedom and Liberty. The D.C. area was captivated by the tiny eaglets as they grew -- and it seemed to happen all too quickly. The eaglets took their first flights at 11 weeks old.

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