The eagles are back!! Every year, eagles across the country return to their nests to prepare and raise their eaglets. As many of us wonder how any eagles survived the strong hurricanes, eagles, especially those in hardest-hit hurricane areas where their nest trees fell, have already started the rebuilding process — without a Lowe’s or Home Depot to run to for supplies. They must find everything they need in nature and have genius ways of using the smallest items to build or rebuild their nests. Even the skeleton of their dinner becomes part of their nest wall or floor. As the eagles build, fight to survive everyday and protect their young, their journey is filled with drama, life, death, and the most tender, uplifting of moments. So, eagle-watching is a huge past-time for millions of humans.
Two favorite eagles of many are Harriet and M-15, who reside in Fort Myers, Florida. As of this weekend, their site has had 112,628,281 views, with the count rapidly rising as they begin the new hatching season. A few years ago, an eagle nest was found on the Dick Pritchett Real Estate property in Fort Myers, Florida. During the off-season, the Pritchett family generously hung cameras with night vision so the public could share the drama and beauty they see daily, without disturbing the eagles. You can get their amazing, inspiring details and history at http://www.dickpritchettrealestate.com. On December 31, 2016, their eaglet “pipped” — started its hatching process. While one egg did not survive, viewers watched in awe as eaglet “E9” broke through the shell, was fed by mom and dad, endured challenge after challenge, until it fell out of the tree, found its way back, continued demonstrating one unique skill after another until it “fledged” (left the nest) not to be recognized again.
This year has already started with more drama than imaginable. Hurricane Irma destroyed many of the established eagle nests and preferred trees. That means there is already a life-or-death struggle for a new place to build and raise their families. It also means that eagles like Harriet and M-15 need to quickly rebuild their seriously damaged nests before their babies arrive while also aggressively protecting the nest they have used for years. Within the past 24 hours, Harriet and M-15 have had several “visiting eagles” check out their site — which they will protect at all costs to themselves. Even an owl “bumped” Harriet during the night. The battles between owls and eagles are epic and memorable! But for this calm morning, the eagles have put that behind, have eaten their breakfast of fresh fish and by 7 a.m. were seen carrying stick after stick to rebuild their nest that was damaged by the hurricane. They are totally focused on each other and getting ready for raising their next brood.
There are many eagles and many eagle live cams. The one in Washington D.C. gained heavy publicity last year when a brave man climbed into the nest of a deadly eagle to rescue an eaglet that had become stuck in the branches. Amazingly, the protective mother allowed him to do that. The cams in Decorah, Iowa showed extreme drama after drama. The eagles in Alaska are amazing to watch as they arrive in mind-blowing flocks around salmon-processing facilities. One in Michigan showed eagles covered in snow as they protected their eggs. And, it always amazes that a pesky owl attacks at night or knocks sleeping birds off their perches. The Pritchett site remains a fan favorite for many reasons. It has live cameras with night vision capturing many views, friendly chat rooms dedicated only to eagles, classroom internet classes, provides detailed histories, explains language used (like what a pip is, when fledging happens….) and some of the most friendly moderators who explain everything happening and why.
Whichever site you chose, watching the eagles also teaches us a lot about life, death, teamwork and ourselves. Be forewarned, eagle watching becomes addictive!
