Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Thursday night E26 popped into the world, described by the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam as "freshly hatched and completely free of the shell."
The little fuzzy eaglet, affectionately called a "bobblehead" by those watching via web cam, was the first of two eggs in the North Fort Myers nest to hatch.
While some watchers on the webcam said it appears the second egg has pipped and is in hatch process, that was not yet confirmed Friday morning:
"Southwest Florida Eagle Cam: Also- while Egg 2 looks to be hatching; we think it's just the egg shell stacked onto one of the sides!"
The numbers assigned the eaglets denote their place in the nest hatch hierarchy. When the second egg hatches, the eaglet will be E27.
The new eagle chick is the product of the breeding pair F23 and M15. The nest is off Bayshore Road just east of Slater Road.
You can watch the nest live at swfleaglecam.com.
The web site's cameras have been keeping an eye on the nest for more than a dozen years. And it hasn't always been the same two eagles. There has been a transition over the years — from the beloved Ozzie and Harriet, to M15 and Harriet, to M15 and F23.
There has also been more than the nest's share of tragedy, from eggs not hatching or eaglets falling ill, to eaglets dying and the still unsolved disappearance of Harriet.
More
- What to expect from North Fort Myers eagles after 2024 tragedy? M15 and F23 starting out great
- Hatch watch has officially started for 2025-2026 season
- The Eagle Cam is back
- Avian flu killed both eaglets at North Fort Myers nest
- F23 and M15 have successful hatch -- new eaglet E24 is out; confirmed pip in second egg
- Mystery of Harriet's 'vanishing' never solved; M15, F23 continue the legacy with one eaglet
Over the years the cameras watching the nest have been upgraded.
The cameras, called the SWFL Eagle Cam and installed by Dick Pritchett Real Estate at the Bayshore Road nest, document the lives of the breeding eagle pair 24/7.
Southwest Florida Eagle Cam co-founder Ginnie Pritchett McSpadden told WGCU that the website started live streaming in 4K mode in 2023, likely among the first such eagle cams to do so.
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