HWF welcomes you to Season 5 of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam 2016-2017 staring Harriet and M15.


- Harriet and M15


Link to the cams - with chat ~~ http://www.dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html#

Link to Facebook page ~~ https://www.facebook.com/SouthwestFloridaEagleCam

Southwest Florida Eagle Cam Nest Notes ~~ http://southwestfloridaeaglecam.tumblr.com/archive


The nest of Harriet and young M15 is located 50 feet up in a slash pine in North Fort Myers, Florida


-- E7 and E8--4 and 5 days old


Dick Pritchett Real Estate is pleased to continue bringing you this live look into the bald eagle nest located on their property. There are two cameras that will live stream the eagles 24/7. Camera #1 is positioned above the nest and is carefully attached to the tree so as not to damage it and is equipped with night vision or infrared light, which emits no actual light or noise. The eagles do not see or hear anything coming from the camera. Camera #2 is located approximately 100 feet from the nest in another tree and has the ability to capture images of the nest action from a distance. It is a PTZ cam which means it can be moved to catch the action. Both cameras are environmentally friendly, non-intrusive and positioned to offer a good view of the nest and eagles while preserving the beauty of the nest and its' surroundings. Last year in 2015 we added a third camera in 2015 which gives us great views of the pond area where Harriet takes her wonderful baths!


-- Family time early 2016


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LINK TO LST SEASON"S THREAD -- forum/viewtopic.php?topic=813400#813400

-- Hope and honor--our first eaglets (2012)


2016/17 nest stats ~~


* Cams on -- September 25, 2016

* Eggs laid -- Egg #1 - November 22, 5:03PM ~~ Egg# 2 - November 25th, 6:13PM

* Eggs hatched -- - Egg #2 hatched December 31st at 7:33AM. Unfortunately our egg #1 has proven to be unviable and did not hatch.

* Branching -- March 6th at 6:29 AM

* Fledged -- Our E9 accidentally fledged on March 14th at 7:22 Am when he slipped on the edge of the nest and fell. So far he is fine. It is our earliest fledge since we have had a cam here.

* Last seen -- MaY 2 at a little after 10AM

-- E3 our little lost baby from 2013/14

-- E5 and E6 our chicks from 2014/15 (we sadly lost E5)

-- E7+E8 our 2015./16 eaglets


Some history about this nest ~~


Thanks to the Pritchett family for installing, maintaining and running these cams on your property. This is a family owned and run business. The cam and nest are located 60 feet up in a slash pine in a horse pasture on the Pritchett property.The cam was first installed in early September, 2012.

A mature pair of bald eagles, Ozzie & Harriet, had been coming to this nest since they built it for the 2006-2007 season until Ozzie's untimely death in September of 2015. Before building this nest in 2006, the pair had a nest on the opposite side of Bayshore Road, across the street. This location is now known as Eagle Landing. The old nest was deliberately killed by someone to get rid of the eagles nest in order to remove the tree. The nest on the Pritchett property is now occupied by Harriet and her new mate, M15.


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Since the cam has been in the tree --

Two eggs were laid November 26 & 29 in 2012 -- Both chicks, Hope and Honor, fledged successfully



Two eggs were laid Nov. 17 & 20 in 2013.
Only one eaglet, E4, fledged successfully E3 sadly passed away on Feb. 2 at 41 days old of unknown causes but most likely a respiratory problem.


Two eggs were laid on November 19 & 22 in 2014
Just one of the eaglets, E6, fledged. We lost E5 on Jan 20, 2015 at due to unknown causes.


Two eggs were laid on December 19 & 22
Both eaglets fledged but shortly after were attacked by an owl. The younger one, E8, was lost for a week and found by three folks from CROW. E8 was transported to CROW where he received intense treatment and rehab. E8 was finally released into the nest area on August 18, 2016.


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-- E8 walking on fledge day - (courtesy of Donna Mcmurrer)



OLD NEST --across the street from the Pritchett property

The pine tree previously used by perhaps two different nesting pairs of Bald Eagles for more than a decade died. An unknown individual knocked off the bark in a ring around the tree which severs the roots from the needles and starves the tree. The county had monitored the nest since 1990 and recorded 23 eaglets, confirmed fledglings.


History of the Old nest in the "killed tree".
LE-26A: Donald road Nesting History

Year - History
90-91 Active, 2 Fledglings confirmed
91-92 Active, 1 Fledgling confirmed
92-93 Active, 2 Fledglings confirmed
93-94 Active, 3 Fledglings confirmed
94-95 Active, 2 Fledglings confirmed
95-96 Active, 3 Fledglings confirmed
96-97 Active, 2 Fledglings confirmed
97-98 Inactive-- 98-99 Active, 1 Fledgling confirmed
99-00 Active, 2 Fledglings confirmed
00-01 Active, 2 Fledglings confirmed
01-02 Active, 1 Fledgling confirmed

02-03 Active, two adults observed at nest tree 4/21/03 -- (perhaps this is when Ozzie and Harriet took over the nest--we do not know)
03-04 Tree observed dead 9/29/03. ES Staff inspected the tree on 9/29/03
and found the tree had been girdled by machete or hatchet. Birds have
been observed in the territory but did not nest this nesting season.
04-05 Active, Two adults observed incubating posture in Dec '04. 1 chick
fledged about April 6, 2005
05-06 Active, 1 fledgling confirmed

06-07 Inactive *Built a new nest north of Bayshore Rd (nest #LE26B-our present nest)

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-- E7 striking a pose


Pritchett Property Nest 2006 - present

This nest has been labeled LE-26B

Ozzie and Harriet relocated their nest for the 2006/07 nesting season to its present location on the Pritchett property.
They have had 11 fledglings confirmed from this nest on the Pritchett's property.

Year - History
06-07 Active; Built a new nest north of Bayshore Rd: 2 chicks fledged
07-08 Active; but fledglings not confirmed
08-09 Active; 2 chicks
09-10 Active; 1 chick
10-11 Active; 1 fledgling confirmed
11-12 Active; 1 fledgling confirmed
12-13 Active; 2 fledglings confirmed (Hope + Honor)
13-14 Active; 1 fledgling confirmed (E4)
14-15 Active; 1 fledgling confirmed (E6)
15-16 Active: nest now occupied by Harriet and M15---2 fledglings confirmed (E7 and E8)

Below is a picture showing the locations of nest 1 (old nest) and nest 2 (Pritchett property nest) --





As you can see above in the lower picture, there is a large river close to the nest, (about a half a mile away - as a bird flies) that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. It is called the Caloosahatchee River, This is a prime source of food for this nest.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there are 128 nests in a 25 mile radius of Ozzie and Harriet's nest. The closet nest is about one mile away, although it was last known active for the 2009 season.

This is the fifth season Dick Pritchett Real Estate has provided the live look into Harriet & Ozzie’s (now M15's) Southwest Florida nest. We now have three HD-PTZ cameras that film the birds 24/7 and stream live video directly to this site. Camera #1 is positioned six feet above the nesting tree and is equipped with night vision or infrared light, which emits no actual light. Nor does it make any noise. The birds do not see or hear anything coming from the camera. Camera #2 is located approximately 100 feet from the nest and has the ability to capture images of the nest action outside of Camera #1. Cam #3 is located down at the pond which is on the property where the eagles tend to spend a lot of time. All of our cameras are environmentally friendly, non-intrusive and positioned to offer the best view of the nest and birds while preserving the pristine beauty of the nest and their surroundings.


-- E4 our 2013/14 fledgling showing off


-- E6 our 2014/15 fledgling at the pond

OZZIE!! ~~ What can I say about Ozzie? We lost the handsome, smart, wonderful 1st Dad of our nest on September27th, 2015. All of us who watch this nest and love this family will always miss this wonderful, smart, entertaining eagle!

Ozzie photographed by Desiree Deliz--Ozzie's #1 fan.



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Perhaps the most important of all of the dramatic happenings at this nest last season was the complete and total loss of the nest probably due to weather, old age, and leaping eaglets. Fortunately for those of us who watch this nest Harriet and M15 have chosen to rebuild their nest right in the same tree and the same spot--what a relief!!

I'm going to attempt to put some of wskrsnwings nest building videos and pictures here so we can have some documentation of that important phase of this season here on the thread!

Aug 30th might be a good start --

Harriet Delivers & Places Sticks Two Times Early Morning 08-30-16

Both Harriet & M15 were in the nest tree overnight. M flew to the NW at 6:15am. Harriet brought sticks to the nest tree twice between 6:50am & 7:15am and placed them just above the old nest base before flying to the SSW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOE470W ... e=youtu.be




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Building A Nest Before Sunrise~Harriet Adds A Branch 09-01-16

It seemed like old times this am. M15 & Harriet in the OCT, then to the nest tree to "discuss" working on the nest before sunrise. Then both try to grab a pine branch from the nest tree. Harriet succeeds, placing her pine bough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRqdse7 ... e=youtu.be


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Branches To Place Are Lost And Moss For Lady Harriet 09-03-16

M15 flew in to the nest tree and greeted Harriet with a moss covered stick. Harriet flew out twice for branches. All three branches fell to the ground during placing or moving by the pair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vv-XNP ... e=youtu.be


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This morning of nest building was thrilling. Twenty five +/- sticks were brought to the nest by both H & M. Many sticks stayed in the nest base. The nest base now has just room enough for two eagles in love. There were triumphant moments, tender and scary moments including bonding and alert calls. **Be sure to watch both movies - there is Part 1 and 2.


Building A Nest~Part 1 of 2~Teamwork & Sticks Galore 09-04-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuyCNAd ... e=youtu.be

Building A Nest~Part 2 of 2~Teamwork & Sticks Galore 09-04-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9xPetp ... e=youtu.be


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This morning Harriet and M15 added sticks and branches that were long, curved, pronged and large that produced a very visible shape of a nest. They each worked on placement, bickered together over placement and bonded in the guise of mating in the nest tree. We have a visible nest! **Be sure to watch both movies - there is Part 1 and 2.

Intertwining Love & Sticks = A New Nest Part 1 of 2 09-07-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBXHbRj ... e=youtu.be

Intertwining Love & Sticks = A New Nest Part 2 of 2 09-07-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTvbhRB ... e=youtu.be

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The nest looks great - H and M brought almost all large branches and sticks, many curved ones. The foundation seems solid, as even with M falling off a side and both moving in the nest, no sticks were dislodged. Harriet went to the ground for a stick in the back of the pasture by the pond. I have never seen her grab a stick from the ground before. M15 dropped down under the tree to check for suitable branches from those that have fallen, but chose none. He got drinks out of the puddles in the pasture instead. Harriet brought several branches before M started; both found new areas for branches.


Nest Building~A Solid Foundation~Branches From New Places Part 1 of 2 09-08-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyOZ_K5 ... e=youtu.be

Nest Building~A Solid Foundation~Branches From New Places Part 2 0f 2 09-08-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Uafnu ... e=youtu.be




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Placing 21 Sticks~Tricky Landings/Takeoffs~Hang Time~M & Horses 09-09-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7HFGl_ ... e=youtu.be

Harriet placed most of the branches she brought to the side of the nest by the porch. She is "bridging" the gap between the main support branches and the porch branch. The nest is being expanded and starting to take the shape of the original nest. Go Mom Go!!

A Snippet From "Bridging The Gap To The Porch"09-10-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ouIH- ... e=youtu.be


- Harriet with a very interesting stick

Harriet and M15 continue to build their nest and their bond. During one hour of the early morning, M added two sticks before flying SE and Harriet added eight, placing half on the right side of the nest. She appears to be "bridging" the gap between the main support branches and the porch branch. The nest is expanding and starting to take the shape of the original nest

Bridging The Gap To The Porch Branch~Nest Building 09-10-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdXRFnP ... e=youtu.be

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Harriet & M15 brought 16, mostly large, branches in one hour this am. Three fell during placement, one landing in the porch branch crotch. Two maneuvering in the nest remains hard as seen today. M slipped off the nest, beaking with H, when she landed on his shoulder. They are learning to build a nest with each other and it is amazing to see them adjust. The nest is coming along nicely.

A Morning Of Large Branches & Who Rules The Nest 09-11-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLN8kAX ... e=youtu.be

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Harriet flew early from the nest tree while M watched their territory and vocalized more than usual. M15 added twice as many sticks as Harriet this morning, including 4 in a fifteen minute time span. The nest continues to grow with the stick additions each day


M15 Does Double Duty~Securing Area & Adding Sticks Nest Building 09-12-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ai0IS ... e=youtu.be

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Watching Harriet and M15 add so much nesting material gives us an even better look at how they gather materials and set them in place. Breaking branches with beaks, flying at & weight on branches. Harriet digs with her talons & pulls up on grasses. We see M transfer branches beak to talon. There is a large palm frond in the nest, providing a better perch place for H & M. An osprey "chases" mom to the nest. M gets the big leafy branch at the pond area, that he has wanted for days. There are two parts to the video today.

Teamwork & Determination~Thirty Sticks In Two Hours Part 1 of 2 09-13-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRAIiS ... e=youtu.be


Teamwork & Determination~Thirty Sticks In Two Hours Part 2 of 2 09-13-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BYzZ1A ... e=youtu.be


-- The nest is taking shape!

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M15 and Harriet took a well deserved morning off from nest building, spending the night in a west pasture tree before flying to the SE. M15 did add a stick at 7:15am and then left at 7:18am. Neither returned but a crow, pileated woodpecker and osprey made an appearance before I left at 10:00am.

A Well Deserved Morning Away~M15 Adds One Stick 09-14-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3aE07u ... e=youtu.be

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Harriet & M15 added 23 sticks and 2 bunches of grasses in 3 hours this am. More time was spent placing the larger sticks of today. Many were placed together with both in the nest, leading to beaking (pecks at each other) in displays of both dominance and affection. Their bond grows stronger as they build their new nest


Building~Bonding~Beaking Part 1 of 2 09-15-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riVYGaV ... e=youtu.be

Building~Bonding~Beaking Part 2 of 2 09-15-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_oqbmn ... e=youtu.be


-- beaky-beaky on the nice new nest

More sticks (20 while I was there) were added in 2 hours this am, mostly by M15. Both spent more time than in previous days, alone and together, rearranging the sticks and shaping the nest. No sticks fell from the nest. The nest grows bigger each day.


More Sticks Added~It's All About Placement Today 09-16-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Ue596 ... e=youtu.be


-- teamwork

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Nest Building Extras: "Grab-N-Go" & "Abort The Nest" 09-17-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo6TV2x ... e=youtu.be

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M15 and Harriet had a temporary delay in stick gathering this morning as the fog rolled in an hour after they started. Although M brought the first stick, Harriet excelled and brought five to his four additions. They placed a stick together without a "tug of stick" too.

Nine Sticks Added Before Fog Sets In 09-18-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-uBMso ... e=youtu.be

-- M15 with a huge stick

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Five sticks in 20 minutes was the morning tally at 9am. During the stick deliveries, Harriet, and especially M15, watched as the mower worked directly below the nest tree and they flew to the west pasture. M15 did not stay there long and resumed adding more sticks. Harriet was still in a west pasture tree and M high in the nest tree branches when I left. "Sprucing up" the pasture and nest found man, machine and eagles all doing their own jobs in preparation for nesting season.

Watchful H & M Gather Sticks While The Pasture Is Mowed 09-20-16

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Yg3eK ... e=youtu.be


-- Harriet brings a stick with M15 watching

Hello everyone. I will be posting observations and videos in the Season 5 thread here starting today.

GROUND OBSERVATIONS - Wednesday, September 21
(scaps and narrative courtesy of myself)

Harriet and M15 added 19 sticks and M brought a nice clump of grasses in 2.5 hours this am. M saw roadkill alligator in the road, making four passes at it before I promptly removed and placed the roadkill far from the road. There are good views of branch breaking & grabbing, hang time, stick placement discussions and flights & landings for today's video.The nest looked wonderfully full and higher when I left at 10:00am.
Some scaps from my footage this am are on my Wskrsnwings FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/wskrsnwings/
I am not sure I will do any more photos. It will take me a while to edit my footage for the video I will post later today.

view of the nest 9-20 at 9:00am


view of the nest 9-21 at 10:00am


M15 flying to the nest with one of many sticks