Beloved Southwest Florida eagle Harriet missing for more than 48 hours: ‘It’s very distressing’

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Jolena Esperto
Published: Updated:

 
Harriet the eagle has been missing for more than 48 hours, meaning she should have been back to the nest by now.
 
Meanwhile, people who have been keeping up with her and her family have been visiting every day to monitor M-15 and the eaglets.
 
The family is cherished by so many Southwest Floridians.
Now, they are left wondering where Harriet could be after she didn’t return to the nest Thursday afternoon.

 

“It’s going to be hard. It’s very distressing that Harriet is missing. The longer she is missing, I think the harder it becomes to know that she’s going to come back. We all hope that she comes back,” Sullivan Miller said.

Sandy Sullivan Miller comes from the East coast regularly to check on Harriet with her husband.
“I’ll have live binoculars, and I’ll tell her when the eagles are coming and going and that kind of thing,” Miller said.
For them, Harriet’s disappearance is hard.
“Watching Harriet has been very healing for me. I had to go through some stressful times. And coming over here makes me forget about everything. And it’s really helped me heal,” Sullivan Miller said.
“You kind of build a relationship with her and her husband. And you see the baby’s come, and it’s kind of fun to watch the babies hatch. And they get bigger, and then they fly around and you can see that,” Miller said.
Once they heard the news, they came over to do what they can to help Harriet’s mate, M-15, take care of their babies.

“It seems like today, what M was doing was being more proactive and actually going out and making sure that none of the adult eagles landed on the nest today. So he would call out warnings and go around. He did a great job of keeping every eagle away today. And he’s also brought three meals to the nest today,” Sullivan Miller said.

 
“It’s the same thing if you’ve lost a dog or a cat you know what it’s like for someone who’s lost Harriet,” Miller said.

 

Jay and Sandy said they have been watching eagles long enough to know its normal for one parent to hunt and one to guard the nest. They also know its normal for the hunting parent to be gone for a few hours, not a few days.

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