An heir and a spare — to give the eggs a royal connotation — are now reposited in the nest of American bald eagles M15 and F23 in North Fort Myers.
The newly crowned raptor couple deposited two eggs in the space of four days. The first egg was laid at 17:54:37 p.m. Friday night with the second one coming Monday afternoon at 1:44.
M15 and F23 have been taking turns on the nest since the first egg appeared Friday and continued that through the weekend and today. That will be how the eagle pair incubates the eggs throughout the coming nearly five weeks until they hatch.
Given that the average length of time for bald eagle eggs to hatch is after about 35 days of incubation, there could be eaglets in the nest around the end of this year and the start of 2024.
RELATED: A new season begins with a new "mother" eagle
The fact that F23 was likely a first-time "parent" brought some comment and concern from those observing the nest via the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam.
One Monday evening conversation on the chat that often accompanies the eagle cam web site touched on marks seen on both eggs right after they were laid (chat lightly edited for clarity).
- Nov 27, 7:34 PM
- inshar99: Why are these two eggs marked with red mark (blood) and yellow marks. I know nothing to worry about but don’t recall in all the years of watching seeing two eggs so discoloured if that’s an appropriate term?
- Nov 27, 7:34 PM
- purpleagle (Admin): inshar if you stop and think about where the eggs come out almost all of them have marks and stuff on them--a lot of it will wear off
- Nov 27, 7:34 PM
- patlogan: GE Raptor, Purple, NHD and fellow chatters. What a great day…wow. Is our new female coming through for us or wha
- Nov 27, 7:35 PM
- LoisNY54 (Admin): The markings on the eggshell:
- The egg also has some markings on the shell. These are most likely a combination of stains from the nesting material and the red that was seen may have been from small blood vessels that may have ruptured (there are many tiny blood vessels in the bird’s ovaries) during the egg-laying process and is no cause for concern.
Last breeding season's tragically dramatic ending when M15's original mate Harriet disappeared in February meant that the male eagle had the duties of feeding, protecting and helping to fledge the couple's two eaglets — E21 and E22.
Before Harriett vanished weeks after the eaglets hatched, the last season's tumult also included the couple having to rebuild their nest when it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
But M15 was more than up to the task and successfully lead his two youngsters to fledge ... after a few fits and starts.
M15 was himself a usurper. The original pair, named Ozzie and Harriet, had more than a few years to themselves. But in 2015, a second encounter between Ozzie and M15 left the older eagle in bad shape and he eventually succumbed to his injuries leaving M15 to take over as Harriet's mate.
Window To Wildlife / WGCU There is also an eagle nest with eggs on Captiva and it, too, can be watched via camera.
The naming of the eagles after Ozzie and Harriet reflect their gender and the year they were named, hence M15 (Male 2015) and F23 (female 2023).
With the welcome egg news Monday it is also important to note that M15 and F23 are not the only two Southwest Florida eagles that have their own "show."
There is a viable eagle nest on Captiva currently housing an eagle pair — named Connie and Clive — and two eggs to boot and there is a camera focused on the pair's activities.
The eggs in this nest were laid November 11 and 14 and could be hatched before Christmas.
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