Plan B Forum

Eagle Cam Watch: First of Two Eaglets Hatches in Florida

The eaglet has hatched!



One of two baby American bald eagles broke free of its shell and was captured chirping Saturday morning on a live-stream of their nest that has been viewed by millions.

Eagle mom Harriet and mate M15[How come mom gets a proper name, while dad gets a moniker that sounds like a name for a sci-fi robot? If her name is Harriet, they should have named him Ozzie] that while welcomed their offspring, known as E9, or eaglet 9, [that's another name that needs to go] at 7:33 a.m. ET, according to the real estate company hosting the webcam.

The baby bird's debut has been much anticipated since the hatching process began Thursday in Fort Myers, Florida, as people noticed the shell starting to crack on the video stream of the Southwest Florida Eagle Camera.

The first break in a shell is known as a pip. The other bird could hatch any day now, observers say.

The eagle cam has been chronicling Harriet's nesting seasons since 2012. Then, 16 million people tuned in to watch Harriet and her former mate Ozzie raise two eaglets from their birth to fledge, according to the company's website.

It takes about 10 to 12 weeks for a newborn eaglet to finally fledge, or fly from the nest.

This year, the eagle cam has amassed more than 60.8 million views as observers get a rare, close-up glimpse of these wild birds of prey, according to the site.

Harriet found current mate M15 — short for "Male 2015" — last year after Ozzie died following a fight with another male eagle in the area, according to the eagle cam website. [Apparently Harriet figured she wasn't getting any younger, and didn't spend a lot of time playing the grieving widow...]

The new mates eventually bonded and had two offspring last December.

"The young eaglets continued to thrive and develop into juvenile eagles" before fledging the nest in the spring, according to the site. This is Harriet and M15's second nesting season in Fort Myers.