NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — Harriet the bald eagle has been nesting in North Fort Myers since 2006, and has lad several eggs over the years with her former mate Ozzie and her new one M-15.
And thanks to the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, fans around the world can get an up-close look at the nest 24 hours a day.
Harriet laid two eggs this season. The first egg, E-14, hatched last week, and we are still waiting to see signs of hatching from her second egg, which is now several days over due, and unfortunately it may never hatch.
This isn't the first time this has happened to the eagle couple. During the 2016-2017 nesting season, one of the eggs didn't hatch.
Fox 4 spoke with an expert with the Calusa Wildlife Center, who says what happens next could surprise you. “In most cases they're going to bury it. In a lot of eagle research, they've dug up unhatched eggs and found a large number of them. Some birds have been known to push eggs out of the nest, and it's just as likely that an eagle would do the same thing", said Walter Cheatham.
The average hatch window is usually between 34 and 40 days, which egg #2 has now exceeded.
Cheatham also told us that's its just nature; it’s common with any animal, even household pets like dogs, but regardless we are thankful we get to watch the eggs in the first place.
It shows the once endangered species is thriving.
