Injured eaglet doing well in nest after CROW rehab stint

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An eaglet who was treated after being tangled in fishing line seems to be recovering well with its parents and sibling after being returned Friday to their North Fort Myers nest, which is live-streamed for tens of millions to see.

“Everything seems to be going great,” said Andy Pritchett, whose family owns the land where the eagles nest.

E8 spent three days in the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife after it was caught in fishing line and sustained injuries to its leg.

CROW's Dr. Heather Barron placed E8 back in the nest about 1 p.m. Friday back with its parents, M15 and Harriet, and sibling, E7.

Once half of the Ozzie and Harriet duo, Harriet is an older female that has fledged dozens of offspring since the early 1990s.

Ozzie was hospitalized due to an injury last year. When he came back, a younger male, M15, had taken his place. The two fought, and Ozzie died a few days after from what was later determined to be his injuries and an infection.

Pritchett said he's seen more people at the nest after the events of the last few months.

“It definitely seems like we have a lot of foot traffic,” he said. “This year with all the commotion, extra publicity and whole interaction thing I think people are more informed about them and with that comes curiosity and interest in seeing them."

With all the high-stress situations, Pritchett said he's happy things have calmed down a bit.

“It’s good to see that everything is back to normal and they’re moving forward,” Pritchett said.

Who's who?

How to distinguish Harriet from M15

-Female eagles are larger than males, so Harriet is the larger of the two

-Harriet has larger eyes that are also lighter in color

-M15's beak is smaller and has a small dot on the right side 

-M15 has feathers between his beak and eyes, while Harriet does not

-M15 has a short, dark stripe on one of his middle tail feather

Source: Southwest Florida Eagle Cam