"We have a PIP in one egg!! The hatching process has begun." That's the excited message on a Southwest Florida real estate website that's been documenting a local bald eagle and her mates via live cam for four years. The big event everyone's now waiting for: the hatching of two eggs laid in November in Fort Myers by Harriet, who will be raising the young eagles with her mate, M15, per NBC News. The "pip" viewed Thursday on the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam live feed, which has reportedly had more than 57 million views this year, refers to the first crack in an egg's shell, meaning full hatching is imminent.
"Within the next day or two, they’re all going to hatch," Russ Ochs, who hails from the local Audubon Society and McGough Nature Park, tells WTSP. "Usually, the eggs are laid one day apart and they will likely hatch one day apart." Once the baby eagles have arrived, they'll stay nestled in the nest for about three months, when they'll be able to fly on their own, Ochs adds. (More bald eagle stories.)