Watch the SWFL Eagle Cam live from Southwest Florida and follow beloved bald eagle pair M15 & F23 through nest building, egg-laying, hatch, and fledge. Below you’ll find the live stream, today’s highlights, season timeline, and FAQs to help you get the most from the cams.
Season Timeline
- Nestoration: late Oct–Nov — sticks, rails, soft grass & moss
- Egg window: early–mid Nov (watch for increased food deliveries & nest time)
- Hatch window: ~35 days after laying
- Fledge window: ~10–12 weeks after hatch
- Post-fledge: parental feeding & flight training near the nest
Read more
Meet M15 & F23
- M15: Veteran provider & nest engineer; known for multiple fish deliveries/day in pre-lay.
- F23: First egg of 2024 laid Nov 8; 2025 Nov 12th; in pre-lay periods she often eats on the nest and increases time in the nest tree.
How to Watch (Cam Tips)
- Playback: Use the DVR bar to rewind ~12 hours.
- Audio: Wind can mask vocalizations; try the 4K cam for clearer sound.
- Behavior cues: Mantling over food, aerating, rolling eggs, “chortle” vocalizations.
- Tip: For the best audio of chortles and wingbeats, use the 4K cam.
- Local time: The nest operates on Eastern Time (ET).
Nest History & Notable Moments
- Stick engineering: Watch M15 test & wedge branches to raise rails.
- Food log: Tilapia, catfish heads, mullet—varies by season and water levels.
- Visitor notes: Loggerhead shrike, anhinga, and the occasional raven fly-by.
FAQs
Q: When do SWFL eagles usually lay eggs?
A: Typically early–mid November, with hatch roughly 35 days later.
Q: Why is F23 eating on the nest?
A: In pre-lay, females often conserve energy and stay close to the bowl, so on-nest feeding increases.
Q: How can I tell who’s on the nest?
A: F23 is larger with a rounder head; M15 shows a slightly slimmer frame and often arrives with sticks or fish.
Q: Do you intervene?
A: No. These cams document wild eagles for education and research; intervention is not part of this project.
Q: Best times to watch?
A: Sunrise and late afternoon for deliveries and nest work; overnight for incubation shifts.
Support & Alerts
- Get email alerts for eggs, hatches, & first flights
- spo-newsletter
- Support these cams & conservation: dickpritchettrealestate.com
Cam 3
main cam
4k cam
Community Discussions
Questions and topics started by viewers.
M15 trying to make it just perfect 👌 for F23 ❤️
As he always does ❤️. And it paid off! We have an egg!!!!
Yeah ❤️
11:24 nest time F flies up from the nest, I assume to sleep further on a limb.
Does Mom have poop on her back?
I didn’t see it, but I did hear that M15 got her.
😂
Yes he got her good 🤣 I thought she might go to the pond but it was pretty cold yesterday
I just heard on the news that southwest Florida had the coldest temps in 60 years. I’m sure they meant for this day, not for any day. They said iguanas were falling out of the trees. I just googled, it is 46, going down to 41. I know nothing of iguanas but doesn’t sound like they should be falling out of trees, but maybe for a cold bloodied creature.
Hi Debbie! Poor iguanas. I would think they could handle the weather. But what do I know, I don’t study them. I’m glad eagles can adapt. I heard the South was going to get really cold and the West was going to get really warm. So far, so correct and so weird! PS: I posted a picture of M15 further down. I’m experimenting with photos. 😂
It was 35 yesterday morning and this morning. Yes, iguanas fall from the trees here when the temps get too low. It’s crazy. They look dead but they aren’t.
Thanks Vicki will Florida get cold enough to compromise the citrus crop? I didn’t know Florida even had iguanas in trees. I’ve never seen an eagle with one.
Sometimes it gets cold enough to do some damage but not too often. Most of the orchards I’ve seen take precautions to protect their crops. I think last time there was a significant effect was when it actually snowed here. The snow hit the panhandle pretty hard and the southern part of the state had a lot of frost and slush. Yes, iguanas are very common in the southern part of the state, especially when you get down in to the keys.
Thanks Vicki. That is interesting.
Florida is definitely not the place to be if you are afraid of lizards. It’s like mini Jurassic Park here 😂
🤣. You are funny. I’m not afraid of lizards but I am truly phobic of snakes, I mean a real phobia. I once literally froze, couldn’t move, when my younger sister threatened me with a I think regular worm. Probably stemmed from younger days when she chased me with a huge night crawler. So that wasn’t even a snake.
That’s me and spiders! I can deal with snakes, they tend to mind their own business if you don’t bother them. But them dang spiders will chase you! We had a huntsman spider on the outside of our screen door one time and it chased my husband across the patio. I have never heard a man scream like such a girl in my whole life 😂 Of course I was watching through the window from my kitchen laughing my head off 😄
That is hilarious Vicki. Poor husband but fun for you!
Mom’s in the nest bole. Who knows. It can happen just as soon as I leave this site, or it may be a week. I’m feeling like an expectant…..er? What am I? 😁🤣. Hummmm. Dang if I know what I am!
😄..
Does anyone know if them having avian flu could affect the egg laying this season? I was just curious, not that I think anything is wrong, it just occured to me it might be a possibility.(?)
I really don’t know , but I don’t think it would affect this season’s egg laying. I did a search by typing in “if an eagle has avian flu and recovers will it affect the next year’s egg laying”. After reading my consensus is probably no with our eagles since they recovered fairly quickly. Last year first egg was laid 11/08, but I think that is the earliest since I started watching in 2016. Seems most 1st eggs are laid around Thanksgiving. In 2020 the first egg was laid 12/16 but that was Harriett. Regardless an egg is definitely not… Read more »
I’ve been watching this nest for years! I was just curious, not thinking anything is wrong. Thank you for looking and answering me. :)
They did recover from the flu quite well, Debbie. Thankfully. It seems they were even considering having a second clutch, but decided against it.
I think you are right.
Karen I have been working with HNF since 8:00 am and finally they figured out the sound .. it should be working well and not muted every 30 seconds ❤️❤️
🤗 Thank you so much, Tina. I think it is better. I can hear the highway, and I don’t detect any muting at all. I’m waiting to hear M & F talk to be sure about what I am able to hear. Thanks again. We have been having probs with a cam 2 glitch and the picture has been moving and then stopping, and picking up a few seconds later, missing some activity. I think that’s fixed now, though. 🥰 Should be all set for the season. 💃
Karen it was driving me crazy 🤪 I have to hear 👂 I just glad that HNF was able to solve it . I told them I don’t have that problem on YouTube?
I don’t have that problem on YouTube either Tina. And I am really glad that it is now fixed. Thank you for doing that. 🥰 By the way, I hadn’t seen M15 hardly at all today, so I took this one at approximately 6:00 this evening, just for the record. Mr. Handsome! ❤️❤️
Good job Karen.
Thank you Debbie. I’m pretty happy to have learned how to do it. I think. Still some glitches here and there. Thanks for posting them when I couldn’t. 🤗 ❤️
Any time but looks like you know how to do it.
Aww 🥰 he sure is ❤️❤️you are welcome 🤗 look at you taking pictures ❤️❤️
Can you believe it? I have been trying to learn for 2-1/2 years now. I remember you posting beautiful pictures of Nancy and Beau day after day, and no matter what I did, I could not figure out how to do it. Even when you told me explicitly how to do it. Yay! So happy about it! 🤗❤️
Karen once you learn how you never forget ☺️ great work ❤️
Thank you. 🤗 😘
Hi Eaglehaslanded. I remember this happening last year or the year before, shortly before F23 laid her eggs. She was acting similarly, and M15 was acting quite excited about it all. Then all of a sudden, F23 was up and about, active, and acting like nothing had, or was going to, happen. I don’t think the activity lasted as long as it did this time, but . . . It could be the same thing. 🙂