Harriett, M15 rebuilding nest in North Fort Myers
It seems a little early for them to be back, but Southwest Florida’s most famous eagles, Harriett and M15 have returned to fix their damaged nest and prepare for another season of laying eggs and rearing little eaglets.
The two have been seen since the end of August rebuilding their nest in North Fort Myers on the Pritchett Real Estate property off Bayshore Road.
The nest collapsed over the summer just shortly after E7 fledged from the nest and E8 was injured and taken to CROW on Sanibel to recuperate.
The pair returned just two short weeks after E8 was released from the rehabilitative clinic following a harrowing childhood which included getting stuck in the nest and being injured after getting knocked off a tree limb by an owl.
The nest, which at one time seemed to engulf the entire center of the tree, is just a fraction of the size now, with no support at the bottom in which to hold the eagles or any eggs they may lay.
“They’ve been showing up early morning and late at night. Some of the photographers in the area have seen them bringing sticks and other things to the nest trying to rebuild,” said Andrew Pritchett, who runs the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam.
Pritchett said this nest-building process is something nobody has seen before, and that it has been interesting to watch.
There are no live cameras to watch the eagles rebuild and very little activity on the website except to show E7 baby pictures. The cameras should be put up in the next couple weeks and up and running by Oct. 1, Pritchett said.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been others who have been watching out for them.
Donna L. McMurrer last week took a photo of the eagles working on the nest. M15 had a stick in its mouth while Harriett directed him on where it should be placed.
Pritchett said the eagle cam, which has drawn millions of viewers worldwide, probably won’t change much this year after a reconfiguration and addition of a third camera last year.
Camera 1 is positioned six feet above the nest and is equipped with night vision, which emits no actual light, nor does it make any noise.
Camera 2 is located approximately 60 feet from the nest and has the ability to capture images of the nest action outside the view of Camera 1.
Camera 3 is installed closer to the north of the pond, to capture activity happening around the pasture and in the pond area.
Pritchett hopes they can get the cameras rolling in time to see the eagles rebuild the nest.
“We’re staying tuned and look to be able to get the cameras up and watch them rebuild the nests which I think the viewers would enjoy watching,” Pritchett said.
The eagle cam site is dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html