Eagle Cam In Florida: Second Egg Not Expected To Hatch — But More Eagle Cam Sites Are Preparing For Eggs

Since the end of November thousands have been observing two nesting American bald eagles on the eagle cam in Florida. Per ABC 11, it was on November 22 and November 25 of last year that the American bald eagles at the eagle cam site in Florida laid two eggs.

E9 – one of the eaglets – hatched on New Year’s Even at 7:33 a.m. Eagle experts, however, do not believe the other egg is going to hatch. Fox 5 reports the family will likely remain a family of three as the average window during which an American bald eagle egg hatches is between 34 and 40 days.

UPDATE on Egg 1- Today is day 41 for the egg & still no pip. The avg. hatch window is 34-40 days so it is doubtful the egg will hatch.

— SWFL Eagle Cam (@SWFLEagleCAM) January 2, 2017

https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestFloridaEagleCam/posts/1261532707237315:0

According to the Facebook post on the page dedicated to the eagle cam site in Florida, there are a few different things that could happen to the unhatched egg. The adult eagles could move the egg off to the side of the nest, bury it, or they could even eat it. The unhatched eagle egg would be a huge dose of calcium for the adult eagle that consumes it.

E9 – the eaglet that did hatch – has become quite the sensation on the internet since hatching. Those watching the eagle cam in Florida, have seen both parents bonding with the eaglet and providing it with a steady stream of fresh fish and other food.

Millions of viewers have turned into the eagle cam site in Florida since it was established in 2012. When the eagle cam in Florida was originally launched, Harriet – the mother eagle – was with her previous mate named Ozzie.

Ozzie and Harriet were together for more than two decades. Ozzie passed away in September of 2015 after getting into a fight with another male American bald eagle. While no one knows for sure, it was believed to be M15. Ozzie passed away two days after the fight occurred.

While American bald eagles are known to mate for life, it is not uncommon for a bald eagle to take a second mate if the first one disappears or passed away.

After an accident involving a car a few months before Ozzie passed, the male bald eagle spent some time in an animal hospital for rehabilitation. While Ozzie was healing, several other male bald eagles attempted to replace him as a new mate for Harriet. When Ozzie returned from rehab, there were several altercations with the male bald eagles which resulted in his death. A month after he passed away, Harriet and M15 bonded.

A live stream of the Florida eagle cam can be viewed below.

Per CBS Pittsburgh, there are other eagle cam sites that appear to have nesting eagles preparing to lay eggs. Both the Hays and Harmar bald eagle came sites are up and running as people start to tune in to see more American bald eagles lay eggs and raise eaglets.

The eagle cam located at the Hays nest is a collaborative project between Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and PixController. The eagle cam at the Harmar nest is owned by ASWP.

Per the Audubon Society Operations Director Brian Shema, the cams at both eagle cam sites have been replaced in order to give viewers an even better view of the eagles then they had last time.

“At the Hays site, down on the Monongahela, we’ve upgraded to high-definition cameras, so viewers can see a much clearer, more vivid picture than they’ve done in previous years. At the Harmar nest, because the camera’s located so far away from the body of the nest, we’ve upgraded to a higher zoom camera, so we can zoom a bit closer to the nest.”

Will you be tuning in to the other eagle cam sites that are starting to prep for laying and hatching eggs? Have you been checking in on Harriet, M15, and their new eaglet? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section found down below.

[Featured Image by Wang LiQiang/ShutterStock]