Fans of Southwest Florida’s favorite winged celebrity are mourning her loss after receiving word that she has likely died.
After four days missing, an eagle mother never returned to her North Fort Myers nest to tend after her eaglet, who was born less than 3 months ago.
“With heavy hearts, we are sharing an update regarding F23,” operators of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam wrote in a social media post on Tuesday night, March 3.
Through the Fort Myers-based livestream, millions of people tuned in to watch F23 and her growing family. And when she went missing on Feb. 27, millions of people from across Florida, the United States and the World awaited her return.
Livestream operators shared that they “received several credible reports of a deceased eagle found less than two miles from the nest,” which they are presuming to be F23.
“This is a deeply sad day for our community … Loss in the wild is never easy to witness. It is a sobering reminder that nature, while beautiful, can also be unforgiving,” the social media post said.
It was F23’s third season mated with M15. The year before was particularly difficult for the avian couple, after they both contracted bird flu, which killed both their eaglets in January 2025. Mom and dad recovered.
In December, they newly welcomed a new baby: E26.
Since she has been gone, M15 has been taking care of their baby E26 on his own, but solo parenting is no unfamiliar task for M15.
In 2023, M15’s mate of 8 years – her name was Harriet – disappeared, leaving M15 to raise their two eaglets until they could fly on their own.
Dedicated viewership has watched nest for years
In fact, the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam has been watching over these eagle couples for well over a decade, with 2012 marking the first year that the camera live-streamed the nest for the entire world to see. Fans have had the opportunity of watching over 15 eaglets be raised since then.
The original nest, which began with eagles Harriet and Ozzie, had deteriorated in 2016 a year after Ozzie had died and Harriet newly mated with M15.
The pair relocated to a nest that has been monitored for more than 10 years now.
Bald eagles mark a rebound across U.S.
By the end of 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the number of eagles across the country to have quadrupled since 2009.
The U.S. Department of the Interior attributes the continued growth to “decades of protection, the banning of pesticide DDT and conservation efforts.”
Thousands of viewers worldwide are remaining hopeful for M15 and E26, as he navigates single parenthood for the second time.
“M15 has already lost 2 companions in his young life, but he is a wonderful dad to his progeny and I’m hopeful he will endure and start a new life with another companion,” one commenter wrote under the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam’s post.
“I am grateful that there will be some closure on what happened to F23…I know M15 will nurture E26 until [it] flies away. M15 will forever be a legend. Rest well F23,” another commenter wrote.
Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: A nest in mourning: Southwest Florida eagle mom believed dead
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
