E21 and E22 are fed Sunday morning in an image captured by the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam. PHOTO PROVIDED

Southwest Florida’s most famous eagles pair, Harriet and M15, are once again proud parents with the hatching of eaglets E21 and E22 earlier this month at the Pritchett Farm in North Fort Myers.

Eaglet E21, whose egg was laid in the nest on the Pritchett property off Bay Shore Road on Nov. 29, finally came out of its shell on Jan. 4 at 8:22 p.m., about 36 hours after pipping out of the shell.

Meanwhile, a pip was seen in E22’s egg at around 11:16 a.m. on Jan. 5. A close-up was seen of a small crack as the new baby used it to keep its balance. It wasn’t until 4:43 a.m. on Jan. 7 that E22 hatched, 37 days after the egg was laid on Dec. 2.

Both eggs were laid in the early evening shortly after nightfall. They also came a little bit later than normal as Harriet and M15 were busy rebuilding their nest after it was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

Ginnie McSpadden, who helps run the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, which broadcast the day-to-day lives of the eagle family in and around the nest, said it’s amazing that there was even a season at all.

“It’s been challenging. Like everyone else with the hurricane and the recovery process, the eagles have done the exact same thing,” McSpadden said. “Their nest was destroyed, but within two days, they were rebuilding in the original tree. It was amazing to see them rebuild the nest and be able to hatch two eggs.”

People were able to watch the event on the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, now in its 11th season of showing us the daily goings on with Southwest Florida’s most famous feathered couple.

McSpadden said they weren’t sure they would be able to have an Eagle Cam, but they were able to pull it off.

“The technology is still in the tree. We had to make some minor switches to get it back streaming again,” McSpadden said. “It’s a storybook season for us.”

What happens next?

According to www.eagles.org, When first born, the eaglets are covered with white down. By the time they are 9 to 11 days old, the first down is replaced by a second down which is much darker in color.

Eaglets come into the world totally helpless. They cannot hold their head up; their vision is limited; their legs are too weak to hold their weight, cannot regulate their body temperature, and must rely 100 percent on their parents to protect them and care for them.

Feathers begin to appear when they are about 24 days old and grow in by the time they are 6 weeks old, able to stand and tear up their own food.

Fledging occurs at 10 to 14 weeks. They are still fed by their parents for a time before they leave the nest.

The Southwest Florida Eagle Cam may be viewed at dickpritchettrealestate.com/southwest-florida-eagle-cam. Four cams provide a variety of viewing options, including a primary cam, a noiseless camera, which also provides night vision, positioned 6 feet above the nesting tree.