Eagle cam fans on watch for missing female
While the latest eaglet, E26, is continuing its trek toward its inevitable fledge by branching, the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam community is anxiously pondering the whereabout of its mom.
F23 has not returned home after flying away with her mate, M15, Friday morning. M15 returned home later that afternoon, but without F23 who has not been spotted since.
While there is hope that the female eagle is alive, followers of the internationally renown eagle pair have been told there may not be a happy outcome as today represents four days since F23 went missing.
Ginnie Pritchett-McSpadden, co-founder of the SWFL Eagle Cam, said she has seen this happen before and the outcome was not good.
“While we were excited by the news of E26 branching, the following morning, M and F flew off. Unfortunately, F did not return,” Pritchett-McSpadden said. “At first we thought it was normal behavior, giving the eaglet time to learn things on their own. But she never came back.”
The SWFL Eagle Cam has not made an official statement as of Tuesday.
“We have been in touch with local fish and wildlife and other departments, but we have no other news,” Pritchett-McSpadden said.
If F23 does not return., M15 would need to finish raising the eaglet alone, something he has successfully done before.
In 2023, after his mate Harriet went missing, he raised two young eaglets by himself. Those eaglets were around six weeks old when Harriet went missing.
This time, there’s one eaglet and that one is about to fledge in the next week or so. The effort wouldn’t be quite as daunting this time around.
“I saw this morning M15 calling for F23. It’s been gut-wrenching to watch. But in better news, E26 continues to reach new milestones,” Pritchett-McSpadden said. “The eaglet continues to be fed by M. In this worst-case scenario, we are seeing some positives in the continued flourishing of the eaglet.”
Pritchett-McSpadden said the community can help by reporting any find of an injured or dead bald eagle.
“I’m a realist. I think we’re bracing for the worst and she won’t be returning,” Pritchett-McSpadden said. “We’re going to continue to pray for a miracle and that an injured bald eagle is found and it may be her.”
What happens next is anyone’s guess, Pritchett-McSpadden said.
The longer-term hope is that M15 will find another mate and remain in the nest at Pritchett Farm off Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers and reclaim the territory with a new mate next season.
The 24/7 eagle cam may be viewed at https://dickpritchettrealestate.com/southwest-florida-eagle-cam/ .