A Baby Eagle Hatched From Its Shell To Ring In 2017

On New Years Eve, the world cringed together as Mariah Carey imploded in front of countless people on live TV. Earlier in the day, millions of people tuned in to see a much better end to 2016. One that included, a cute, cuddly, furry baby bird. If an eagle breaking free from its shell and bursting into the world on live TV isn’t a sign that 2017 will be better than 2016, I don’t know what is.

Just in time to bring hope for 2017, a baby eagle hatched in the early hours of New Years Eve. The eagle was born at 7:33 a.m. in Fort Myers, Florida as millions of viewers eagerly anticipated its arrival online. Two eagles hatched that morning, but the first was E9 (Eaglet 9). Born to eagle parents Harriet and M15 (Mate 15), the wait for E9 captivated viewers all over the world since late last week when viewers began to notice cracks appearing on the shell.

The video feed, called “Eagle Cam” has been online since 2012. Millions of people visited the site to watch Harriet and then mate Ozzie hatch and then raise two baby eagles. This year alone, the site has had over 60 million views.

How else are you going to see the majesty of every day eagle life in the privacy of your own home? It’s also a pretty good idea to watch a video feed instead of trying to take a gander at a nest in person. If you think your mother-in-law has a bad temper, just wait until an eagle mother catches you poking around her nest.

If you didn’t guess it already, the eagles shown on the feed are wild. The camera is set up in such a way that it doesn’t disturb them. “Eagles are wild birds and anything can happen in the wild,” the site says. “The Southwest Florida Eagle Camera (SWFEC) does not interfere or intervene and allows nature to take its course. You will see life and you might see death, but this is nature at her finest.”

As expected, Twitter was abuzz awaiting and welcoming the baby eaglet:

https://twitter.com/LucidNewsNet/status/815209907452542976?lang=en

Even if 2017 isn’t a dramatically different year from 2016, at least we can always tune in to “Eagle Cam” and feel just a little better even if only for a few moments. Either that or we can just watch YouTube videos of people eating giant burritos. That works too.