They televise the moment when eagles hatch 0:50
(CNN) -
The first of two baby bald eagles expected to be born in Florida hatched Monday, and the moving moments were captured on cameras for the whole world to see.
The parents, Harriet and her M15 companion, have spent over a month taking turns patiently caring for and incubating the eggs and hunting around their nest, located on the Dick Pritchett Real Estate family farm.
A pip was spotted Sunday morning - a small crack signaling the first sign of hatching in one of the eggs from the bald eagle's nest and the calf was born about 12:45 p.m. local time Monday, according to the farm.
One of the long-awaited bald eagles has already hatched.
It typically takes 12 to 72 hours for the chick to fully hatch as the baby slowly uses its egg tooth to hatch without help, according to the family.
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For the past 10 years, the Pritchett's have installed three cameras around the nest to allow anyone around the world to watch eagles and all of their beautiful moments, from the time they are laid to the day they hatch.
Harriet and M15 have become Internet sensations, where thousands of people around the world watched their 24-hour live broadcast, led by Southwest Florida Eagle Cam.
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Harriet and her partner M15 protecting their eggs.
After announcing the official pip, or the start of the hatching, the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam has seen an average of 2,500 viewers per minute, Virginia Pritchett McSpadden, who runs the project with her family, told CNN.
In the past, they have logged 10,000 to 40,000 viewers per minute while the birth occurs, McSpadden said.
The first egg was laid on November 20, and the second egg was laid three days later.
The average incubation period for bald eagles is 35 days, which means babies are expected very early, according to the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam.
Harriet has laid 23 eggs, including the two new babies, since the cameras were installed in 2012. She has been mating with M15, named after Male 2015, since the fall of 2015 after Ozzie, whom Harriet mated with. for the first time, he passed away after multiple violent altercations with M15.
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"Both parents have diligently taken turns incubating the eggs, maintaining the necessary temperatures that the embryos need for proper development," Southwest Florida Eagle Cam said in a news release.
"Harriet and M15 will continue to feed their eggs until they feel movement and the chick scratches the surface of the egg to hatch. Once the hatchling has started to breathe, it will make soft calls that the adults can hear."
While fans were able to see how the couple cared for their eggs, rolling them frequently and keeping them warm, there were also some terrifying moments for the expectant parents.
Just a week before the expected "Hatch Watch", a snake crawled into the nest and an owl attacked M15.
American bald eagle population quadruples
Once on the endangered species list, bald eagles are now thriving, according to a report published in 2020.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service said in a report that bald eagles have quadrupled in size since 2009. More than 316,700 bald eagles and more than 71,400 nesting pairs were present in the lower 48 states during the season. 2019 breeding season, according to the report.
"This is truly a historic conservation success story," US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland told a news conference.
"The bald eagle has always been considered a sacred species to American Indians and similarly sacred to our country ... The strong return of this prized bird reminds us of our nation's shared resilience and the importance of being stewards. responsible for our lands and waters that unite us. "
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Bald eagle populations declined severely in 48 states between 1870 and 1970 due to hunting, habitat loss, and the use of DDT, a powerful insecticide that weakened bald eagle egg shells.
In 1963 there were only 417 breeding pairs, and in a national effort to save the iconic bird, the federal government banned the use of DDT in 1972. The bald eagle was placed under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, which allowed to the government to protect their habitats.
Bald eagles were delisted in 2007 and are now protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
CNN's Peggy Mihelich, Lauren M. Johnson, and Liz Stark contributed to this report.
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