FORT MYERS, Fla — As the beloved Southwest Florida eaglets continue to grow, they go on solo flights quite often after fledging for the first time. And after being gone for a few days, E21 finally returned to the nest.
In a tweet from the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, leaders behind the popular live stream claim that miracles do happen after the eagle baby returned home.
"After nearly 5 days away from the nest area, E21 has returned and looking strong/healthy!!" leaders behind the eagle cam said in the tweet.
E22 was in the nest with papa bird M15 when the adventurous sibling came home.
Within the past week, the two eaglets were able to take flight for the first time, soaring through the blue pasture.
E21 was the first to fledge back on March 30, and it eventually returned minutes later to the upper attic – marking a successful first flight for the cute eagle baby. And four days later, E22 took the grand leap and flew through the sky.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, eaglets make their first unsteady flights about 10 to 12 weeks after hatching – which means both of the eaglets are on the right track.
Once the eaglets get comfortable with flying, they will reportedly ledge, or leave their nests, within a few days after that first flight.
We are certainly not ready for the eaglets to leave the nest, but the clock is definitely ticking.
For any eagle lovers wanting to get an up-close look at some eagles — leaders behind the popular eagle cam are asking for some privacy.
Southwest Florida Eagle Cam leaders took to Twitter to explain if people come and visit a lot, it can scare the birds away.
"During this sensitive time; please do not visit the nest area and stay off the driveway," the organization said in the tweet. "Having so many people in the area can spook or deter the eagles from their normal behaviors causing undue stress and harm."
The Southwest Florida Eagle Cam has been live-streaming this nest since 2012. Following some downtime after Hurricane Ian, the live look returned — and the eagles rebuilt their nest. Today, it uses four discreet cameras that monitor the birds around the clock.
For anyone wanting to watch highlights from the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, you can find them here.
You can also check out the 24-hour live stream down below to see how the eaglets are doing:
10 Tampa Bay's Leo Santos contributed to this report.
