FORT MYERS, Fla. — Just in time for Christmas, the Southwest Florida eagles have laid out two gifts all wrapped up for viewers to keep an eye on.
M15 and F23, the two eagles based in Fort Myers, are growing a family after the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam showed a glimpse of the eggs in the nest.
The popular eagle cam first reported an egg in the nest back on Friday. The two birds have been taking turns on egg duty.
Early Saturday morning, M15 – who's the main eagle being seen in and around the nest after arriving toward the end of summer – had his first look at the egg and took over incubating.
And not even three full days later, a second egg appeared.
"Just months ago we were crossing our fingers for a successful mate/bond and now we have two eggs!" leaders with the eagle cam wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Season 12 for the Southwest Florida eagles kicked off in October and this isn't the first time M15 has had kids of his own.
He and his ex-wife Harriet raised two eaglets that are now soaring in the skies. But after the disappearance of Harriet, M15 was seen pulling the heartstrings of a different female eagle. But with the new arrival of a fresh season, the papa bird also brought a fresh lover – F23.
Cam leaders say M15 has been keeping company with her – perching together, staying close to one another and also engaging in mating behaviors.
Along with keeping physical touch and quality time alive, the two birds worked on restoring the nest together.
The Southwest Florida Eagle Cam has been live-streaming this nest since 2012. Following some downtime after Hurricane Ian, the live look returned — and the eagles rebuilt their nest. Today, it uses four discreet cameras that monitor the birds around the clock.
For anyone wanting to watch highlights from the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, you can find them here.
10 Tampa Bay's Leo Santos contributed to this story.