[Kobi]

My poor lil eaglet buddy, who had to be temporarily removed from the nest because of the fishing line wrapped around its foot, has had a brutal couple of days.

For some reason, his sibling began attacking him 2 days ago. It might have been over food. Even tho the fish were lined up in the nest, Brutus wasnt being fed enough. Any attempts by the lil guy to get food was met with brutal pecking and wing pulling. Eaglets eat every couple of hours, so that was a lot of violence.

The Eagles experts chalked it up to "sibling rivalry". Having watched a lot of nests, sibling rivalry is usually head bonking and wing slapping, not brutal attacking. Siblings will kill one another if there is not enough food.

The parents may have figured out how to solve the problem. Last night they fed Brutus until his stomach and crop were so full he turned into a ball that couldnt move. Then, they moved the food over to the lil guy and fed him until he was full. Poor lil guy was grabbing at food with one eye over his shoulder.

Today, one parent remained in the nest all day, wedging themselves between Brutus and lil guy as needed. They kept the food coming. They fed on demand (which is normal and expected at this age). The attacks today were brief. Lil guy has learned to stay away from the food until Brutus is done. Then he kind of backs up to the parent and eats over his shoulder. The parents are also moving the food when Brutus gets aggressive cuz he will follow the food.

Veteran watchers from this nest say it is not uncommon to see this here. Last year, people apparently were relieved when the aggressor died of unknown causes at 6 weeks old.

Lil guy is tough tho. He has been thru a lot in his 20 days on earth. I'm hoping he is tough enough.