Eaglet hatchlings heat up views on SWFL Eagle Cam
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Southwest Florida's most famous eagle pair are parents once again.
M15 and F23 saw their two eggs hatch over the weekend. The first egg was laid on Nov. 8 at 2:38 p.m. and E24 hatched on Saturday at 4:01 p.m.
Meanwhile, the second egg was laid on Nov. 11 at 6:15 p.m. and E25 hatched Tuesday at 5:48 a.m.
Both eaglets appeared well as mom and dad took turns keeping them warm and feeding them.
Fans and followers of the nest off Bayshore Road on the Pritchett property got to see everything via the multi-camera Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, now in its 13th season with more than 225 million views worldwide since its inception.
Just after noontime Monday, a close-up of the second egg showed the shell weakening and moving as the eaglet inside began to break out.
Later, E24 may have accidentally broken a hole in the egg during a feeding. A close-up showed the eaglet peeking out through the hole.
Of course, it's not like you see in cartoons where the egg cracks and the baby emerges seconds later. It took until Tuesday morning before the eaglet was seen for the first time.
It was obvious the eaglet had just emerged as its fluff was matted down and it was still partially inside the cracked egg. The eaglet was also exhausted, its face down in the nest as it tried to gets itself somewhat upright.
This is the second season for M15 and F23 as a pair.
Last season saw only one egg hatch successfully. The second was prematurely damaged just before its anticipated hatching. The second eaglet did not survive.
It is unknown what exactly happened to cause the egg to become damaged.
It should be interesting how the parent pair will raise two eaglets after only having to raise one their first mating season together last year.
Ginnie Pritchett-McSpadden, founder of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, said the hatching times were a little disappointing with one hatching while is was still dark, as well as some concern after last year.
"It's so hard because last year we only had one hatch. I was a little nervous this time around, but it's good to see them successfully hatch," Pritchett-McSpadden said. "Right now, they're getting the hang of eating, bobbing their heads and gaining weight and strength. It's the best time to tune in for the cuteness overload."
M15 previously was the mate of nest matriarch Harriet for eight years. Harriet, who bonded with M15 in 2015, went missing after a successful nesting in 2023. Harriet’s previous mate was Ozzie, who died in 2015. The original pair had been coming to this nest since 2006 and Ozzie and Harriet were the original stars of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam
The eaglets will continue to grow steadily, eventually able to regulate their own temperatures, losing their down coating and growing feathers, feeding themselves, becoming about the size of their parents within six weeks.
After branching and exercising their wings for a couple weeks, they are expected to fledge from the nest sometime in the early spring.
Pritchett-McSpadden called it the "30-30-30," the time between the hatch and the fledge.
"Over the next 30 days we'll see huge growth in height and weight. The next 30 days we'll see them get their feathers and physically change, and the 30 days after that they'll spread their wings and fly," Pritchett-McSpadden said. "It's the most exciting time and there's a lot of action in the nest."
Fans can catch all the action in the nest on the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, which started its 13th season in October as the famous eagles returned home early to work on their nest before mating.
They can again catch all the action using four cameras that stream the bald eagles live directly to this site.
Camera 1 is positioned seven feet above the nest and is equipped with night vision. Camera 2 is located at nest level capturing the side view.
Camera 3 is in the nest tree and the first ever live camera in history to capture a 360-degree look into a bald eagle's daily activity. This cam allows you to click and drag to any viewing area for a fully immersive experience. Camera 4 is installed closer to the pond to capture activity happening around the pasture and in the pond area.
To follow all of the action in and around the nest 24/7 visit https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/southwest-florida-eagle-cam/.