Ron And Rita's Baby Bald Eagles Aren't Babies Anymore, Preparing To Take Flight

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- They grow up so fast. No, we're not talking about what parents say when their children leave the nest, but what Zoo Miami's Ron Magill is saying about Miami's most famous bald eagles, R1 and R2, as they spread their wings and get ready to leave the nest literally.

In a Twitter post on Tuesday morning, Magill posted video of the juvenile eagles, which have grown quite large since hatching over New Year's weekend.

He wrote, "They are no longer little chicks! Building up those flight muscles as the day is quickly approaching when they will leave the nest. Soon.... very soon...."

You'll recall the parents, named after Ron Magill and his wife Rita, have been the center of attention when The Ron Magill Conservation Endowment and Wildlife Rescue of Dade County teamed up to build an artificial platform for the eagles in an undisclosed location after their original one was destroyed during a storm last March.

Lo and behold, Ron and Rita built a new nest on the manmade platform to the delight of just about everyone.

In addition to the custom-built platform, they installed state-of-the-art cameras for 24-hour viewing on a live Eagle Cam which provides intimate views into the nest.

The 24-hour bald eagle nest camera showed Rita laying three eggs around Thanksgiving. All of them hatched but one didn't survive. It hatched several days later than its siblings and was unable to compete with their larger size and strength.

Now, R1 and R2, are growing and stretching their wings, as they prepare to take flight for the first time.

Baby bald eagles usually leave the nest at around 10-12 weeks of age. However, they often stay near the nest in order to learn from their parents and hone their flying and feeding skills for another 1-2 months.

Bald eagles are monogamous and mate for life, usually returning to the same nest year after year and building upon it.

To see the live Eagle Cam, click here.