Watch Southwest Florida Eagle Cam Live Streaming Online: When Will E9 Fly? [Video]

The Southwest Florida eagle cam is still streaming live every day bringing the latest updates of Harriet, M15 and E9 to the masses. Streaming from North Fort Myers, Florida, Dick Pritchett operates the eagle cam that is now in its fifth season. M15 is Harriet’s second mate, following the death of her first mate Ozzie, and E9 is the only eaglet that hatched this season. Hatched on December 31, 2016, E9 has grown leaps and bounds every day, but many people wonder when the new eaglet will fly. E9 is approaching one-month-old and is gaining new skills, eating a bit on his own and ventures around the nest. As the days and weeks pass, E9’s physical changes will be undeniable. You can watch the eagle cam as it streams live from Florida in the video player above.

#Eagles #eaglecam Check out E9 with heron in the nest as the birds battle strong winds. https://t.co/mmfYdFZzkc

— Live Eagle Cam (@eaglecamlive) January 23, 2017

According to Learner, bald eagles are fully grown at nine-weeks-old. E9 is nearly four-weeks-old. Over the next five weeks, we can expect many changes to occur in E9. Harriet and M15 continue their dutiful care and attention and regularly bring fish, birds and other food to the nest for E9. Learner’s bald eagle facts state that according to their study, one of the eaglet’s parent is in the nest on a near consistent basis. This has been evidenced with the live streaming eagle cam that routinely shows either Harriet or M15 in the nest with E9. There have been times when M15 would return to the nest and Harriet would leave, as if M15 had relieved her of her duties. You may have noticed that E9 regularly eats large pieces of fish and when the heron was in the nest, chomped down on the bits of bird. Unlike some other birds, eagles eat meat from the time they hatch. Harriet and M15 will tear off pieces of meat to feed E9, but they don’t regurgitate it to make it smaller like some bird species do. E9 will be ready to fly when approximately 12 weeks old.

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As E9 reaches the one-month milestone, you’ll begin to see physical changes as well as the eaglet gain more independence. E9’s pin feathers are coming in and the eaglet will soon be one foot tall. Over the next two weeks, as E9 reaches six weeks old, the eaglet will stand for long periods of time and walk around the nest. Currently, E9 is still very wobbly and spends days eating and sleeping. Those watching the live eagle cam stream will start to catch more glimpses of E9 looking over the nest’s edge. Harriet and M15 will begin to spend less time away from the nest. E9 will gain more independence, and that means spending more time in the nest alone.

With nearly three months before E9 takes flight, there’s plenty of exciting moments to watch with the eagle cam. Those who’ve watched since Harriet and M15 began nest building have been delighted to witness many moments through the live cam. Unfortunately, the second egg failed to hatch and remains in the nest. Eagles do not regularly clean their nests, instead, they bury items and over time, the nest becomes a haven of filth, dirt and bacteria. As the nest becomes uninhabitable, Harriet and M15 will find an alternative nest to use. This is common to all eagles and is of no great concern to E9’s health or well-being. As E9 continues to grow, thrive and gain independence, we’ll eventually see the eagles leave the nest and then a new season will begin.

There are months ahead of excitement, activitiy and growth in the Southwest Florida eagle cam Season 5, and thanks to the live stream no one had to miss a moment of it. There’s no question that E9’s first flight will be a phenomenal event that will be watched by hundreds of thousands, but there are plenty of moments to enjoy before then.

You can watch some of the most memorable moments from the live streaming eagle cam as captured on video and shared in the videos below.

[Featured Image by Rocky Grimes/Shutterstock]