FORT MYERS, Fla. — Beloved Southwest Florida eagle couple Harriet and M15 are proud parents once again after E21 hatched Wednesday evening – and now they're waiting for the second egg to hatch.
The baby eaglet's egg showed its first pip, another term for crack, Tuesday morning signaling the hatching process had begun. All throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, E21 worked on cracking its shell and making its way into the world.
E21 finally emerged from its shell around 8:20 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, according to a tweet from @SWFLEagleCAM.
"Welcome to the World E21! First spotted fully hatched around 8:20pm ET- can’t wait to see him/her in the daylight!" the tweet read.
Now Egg 2 is pipping and the hatch is in progress.
All eyes have been on the Southwest Eagle family since Harriet laid two eggs back in late November and early December.
"Egg 1" was laid on Nov. 29 and "Egg 2" on Dec. 2. Since then, Harriet and M15 have been taking turns patiently incubating the eggs. The incubation period for eagle eggs is about 35 days before hatching, Dick Pritchett Real Estate explains on its website that hosts the eagle cam.
The couple successfully raised two eaglets last year, which garnered a lot of attention from the public, who loved to see the live cams of the tiny birds growing and thriving.
"Harriet and M15 are a well-seasoned and bonded Eagle pair. They use their excellent skills and instincts to nurture and protect their family and territory," Dick Pritchett Real Estate said in a post online. "Through all the trials in their life, they have also had tremendous successes."
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.
To keep an eye on the eggs and see what the eagles are doing, click on the video below.
