Black eagles: We have an egg!

The famed black eagle pair of the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden will soon welcome the next generation into the world, having laid an egg somewhere between April 10 and 12.

The eagles, dubbed Makatsa (female) and Mahlori (male) have made good use of their time since December, when their last juvenile left the area in search of its own territory.

According to Black Eagle Project committee member and avid monitor, Dougie Crewe the eagles typically enter a period of very little activity, when they mostly hunt and slowly but surely start preparing their nest for the egg-laying season, which usually falls within the second or third week of April.

This year, they started preparations on their nest a little earlier than usual, which spurred the excitement of the project monitors, a dedicated group of people who give up their time to monitor and report on the world-famous winged superstars of the West Rand, with more than 300 000 followers on social media.

By April 10, all eyes were fixed on the nest to try and ascertain whether this year’s highly anticipated egg had arrived, but it was not yet to be.

By the next day, the monitors were sure that there was an egg, but the ever-secretive Makatsa would not leave the nest, thus depriving them of the opportunity to confirm the happy news.

Finally, on April 12, while monitors waited with bated breath, Makatsa took to the sky at around 08.45. Upon seeing her in flight, Mahlori swooped down to take her place on the eagerly awaited egg.

Black eagles usually lay two eggs per year, though it is not unheard of for three eggs to be laid at intervals of about three days apart. The eggs typically hatch toward the end of May or the first week of June, though usually, only one of the hatchlings survives.