M15 may be bonding with new female eagle

By CHUCK BALLARO news@breezenewspapers com

It has been over a month since Southwest Florida’s famous eagle matriarch Harriet went missing, leaving her mate to take care of their latest brood

Remarkably, the eaglets dubbed E21 and E22 are doing well despite the occasional meal being stolen by intruders and the loss of half of their support system.

Even more remarkable is that eagle dad M15 may have found himself a potential new mate

The Southwest Florida Eagle Cam has shown the action in and out of the nest off of Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers as the eaglets continue to grow and the possibility of a new pairing becomes greater

A female eagle dubbed R23-3 as in Rouge Eagle 2023, No 3 has been coming around the nest for a couple weeks and not only has she not harmed the eaglets, she has helped a bit with feedings, even as the babies are learning to feed themselves

“She has been persistent in her presence around the nest tree and in the area When M comes in with a fish, she’s usually close behind,” Ginnie Pritchett McSpadden, founder of the eagle cam on the Pritchett property, said “We’ve seen her drop to the nest and allow her to roost and, in the last few days, eat a fish and offer bites to one of the eaglets I’m shocked ”

The two adults birds have attempted to “bond” in recent weeks on the attic branch as M15 finally seems to be accepting the female M15 has also hung out with R23-3 and, for the first time, roosted with her on Feb 27 in the attic before an owl knocked her out of the nest tree

Since Harriet disappeared on Feb. 2, three eagles have been vying for M15's attention One with an injured talon came by to simply grab a free meal and was chased away R23-3 was doing that at first and continues to take M15's catch for herself Though she has slowly gained acceptance from the male, at least for now

Pritchett-McSpadden said everyone is learning quite a lot about nature, especially that the most predictable thing about nature is unpredictability

“Everyone is in new territory and unsure what will happen If you asked me three weeks ago what would happen, if would not be on the list of possibilities,” she said. “Mother Nature is keeping us on our toes.”

M15 continues to be a superstar in the nest, still providing the eaglets the food they need, even with the close calls they had with intruders in recent weeks

As for the young nestlings, it seems E22 has learned to become more resourceful come feeding time After weeks of getting bonked by E21 at feedings, it has finally started to claim red meat on its own and has even found ways to steal from its slightly older sibling

The younger eaglet has even used E21 as a trampoline as it practiced its winging for the first flight and is hanging out on the rails of the nest, meaning it appears ready to branch pretty soon, an important step before fledging

“All things considered, both eaglets are doing great People were worried about E22 being smaller and not getting the bites, but M15 has done a good job with makeup feedings when he can,” Pritchett-McSpadden said. “To see them thrive in this atmosphere is incredible ”

There are still several what if’s remaining in what has been the most interesting nesting season to date As the eagles have started to bond a process that looks like mating there has been some speculation as to whether that might result in new brood

Pritchett-McSpadden said there most likely will not be any eggs in the near future, as this is a courting stage and nesting season is October to May

But never say never.

“Eagles mate for life and there is a process to having that connection of mating and bonding We saw them do that It wasn’t mating to create an egg, it was more the ritual of bonding,” she said “It takes a couple months for the relationship to mature It was crazy to see that ”

For more information or to view the eagle cam, visit dickpritchettrealestate com