I've been following the "expert" discussion - 35 days is average, which makes the first egg 3 or 4 days overdue. However, last year's eggs in this nest took about 38 days to hatch, and it can be as long as 45 days (though that's not common). The second egg is at its due date now, though again another 3 or 4 days is not at all uncommon.

Once the chick starts breaking out of the shell, it may take 12-48 hours (or possibly longer) after the first hole before the chick emerges.

There is also a theory that the initial black spots that were assumed to be holes might have been muck or something - one of the eagles returned from hunting with some black gunk on it, and that might have gotten on the eggs.

I'm not sure if there's agreement among the experts as to which of the visible marks are holes; most of the posts call them holes, and it seems likely that some of them are - but it seems unlikely that both chicks would have started making holes at the same time as the eggs were laid 4 days apart - giving weight to the theory that one of the parents should have taken a shower before returning to the nest.

Guess we'll find out eventually.

There was a news release that one of the eggs had hatched - it looked as if the head of a chick was coming out, but a later review of the film showed that it was some moss stuck to the egg. I doubt if the follow-up story got as much press.

Must admit I do find the site rather addictive, and am watching a couple of other sites where there are hatchlings of various sizes - the oldest of which are beginning to try wing-flapping exercises.