PITTSBURGH — The third and final bald eagle egg nesting in the Hays neighborhood appeared to start hatching Tuesday.

However, there was still no signs of a chick early this morning.

“The way the female was sitting, I couldn't see anything,” said Jack Lucas, a land management supervisor with the state Game Commission. “And I haven't heard any other updates.”

The first eaglet in the nest overlooking the Monongahela River hatched Friday night, with its sibling following two days later.

According to the typical two-day incremental hatching pattern of the bird, the final egg was set to hatch Tuesday.

“It's right on schedule,” said Bob Mulvihill, an ornithologist with the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.

Mulvihill had not seen the chick by this morning, but said it did appear the egg started hatching Tuesday afternoon.

“It's a long and grueling process,” he said. “It can take between 24 and 48 hours for the egg to hatch.”

The hatchling will have a difficult battle ahead of it even after it makes its way through its shell.

Mulvihill said the mortality rate for third eggs is always much higher than its older siblings, as the older chicks have a couple days of development on it.

“The bigger chicks will take the lions share of food,” he said. “If food is not coming in an abundance, the smaller chick will have a difficult time.”

The food supply and the experience of the parenting eagles may lead to hope.

“The two bigger siblings are getting good feedings so far,” Mulvihill said. “(The parents) seem to have their act together in only their second attempt at nesting.”

Last year the eagles fledged one chick.

“Eagles tend to get better at coordinating parental activities as they go along,” Mulvihill said. “So far it looks good.”

Bald eagle pairs are active on two additional sites in Allegheny County. More than 200 nests have been reported in Pennsylvania.

The wait for the births has captured the interest of many Western Pennsylvanians because of a camera that has been trained on the nest around the clock.

The video had more than 950,000 total views as of this morning.

To get a look at the nest, go to the Butler Eagle website, www.butlereagle.com, and look for the link “The Pittsburgh Eagle Cam” on the right side of the home page.

The live-stream camera of the nest is provided by Murrysville-based PixController, which is working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.