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Bigger eaglet aims butt at sibling and lets it fly

Posted at 8:34 PM, Mar 29, 2012
and last updated 2012-03-29 21:59:49-04

Now that the two chicks have hatched and been in the nest for almost two weeks, their personalities have started to develop.

The first chick cracked through its shell around 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 16.That one is known as R1.

The next egg hatched two days later, bringing R2 into the world.

But tonight, we happened to catch one precious family moment, one moment of R1 punking his smaller sibling.

This video certainly is not a pivotal step in their development. But it does show the close quarters of the nest and all that can occur. Fish bones and tails, squirrel carcass, snake bits and poop--it's a regular 'ol pig-sty up there.

Check out how the smaller R2 narrowly avoids something gross from R1.

Then click over to read about why life in the eagle's nest can be hard, be more brutal than we might expect, and why.But don't be scared. This is just an eagle-eye view of nature.

Since January two cameras have been positioned above an eagle’s nest on the James River.

The nest has been called home to two bald eagles for more than a decade. Since 2001 the couple has produced 18 chicks including 2 in 2011, according to the Center for Conservation Biology.

The camera runs 24 hours a day. The Times-Dispatch reports that project managers can control the cameras remotely and zoom in or tilt the camera to provide the best views.

The nest is on private property. To read more about the project, visit theRichmond Times-Dispatch,or check out the CCB Richmond Eagles on Facebook.

The non-stop U-Stream feed of the eagles can be found here.