'I Have Goose Bumps': Zoo Miami's Ron Magil On 'Rita' Laying 2nd Egg On Live Bald Eagle Cam
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – "Rita," Miami's most famous bald eagle, has laid a second egg – and it was once again caught on the live Eagle Cam!
The first miracle happened the day before Thanksgiving.
"I just thought it was so symbolic, especially on Thanksgiving. I mean I give thanks to my family and everything, but this was like a special gift. It was like the bird saying 'thank you' to us for providing her with this platform to show the world how magnificent these birds are. That they have made such a comeback," said Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill.
Magill, who is also the founder of the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, partnered with Lloyd Brown and Wildlife Rescue of Dade County to build a platform for an eagle nest with five live cameras after Rita's nest fell 85 feet to the ground following a storm in March.
One eaglet died and a second suffered a broken wing.
The surviving juvenile bald eagle was released back into the wild after five months of rehabilitation.
WATCH: Bald Eagles Begin Building Nest On Custom-Made Platform
After the little eagle's release, attention turned back to the parents, a bonded pair for over a decade who had very limited success in raising chicks. The instability of the nest site, which they kept returning to year after year, was part of the problem.
The hope was the new stable platform, built in a nest tree close to the original location, would help the mates succeed.
And it worked!
On his Facebook page on Wednesday, Magill wrote, "OMG!!! So this just happened!!! "Rita" the Bald Eagle that we've been watching on the eagle nest cam, along with her mate, "Ron," just laid an egg!!!! I couldn't believe it as I was watching it live!!"
Yes, the eagles are named after Magill and his wife Rita.
Magill posted on Thursday that "Rita" the eagle should be laying another egg within the next few days.
And Magill was right!
Just a couple of short days later, Rita laid her second egg.
"I have goose bumps and tears in my eyes as I am writing this!! This is an incredible journey that we are all privileged to be part of thanks to Wildlife Rescue of Dade County and the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment," Magill wrote on his Facebook account.
Though Magill notes plenty of things can go wrong, he asks "that all of you will hope and pray along with me that Rita and Ron will be able to successfully hatch these eggs and fledge their chicks!"
Assuming it all goes well, Magill said the chicks should hatch between Christmas and New Year's Day.
Eagles usually mate for life and protecting them is important. After all, they're America's national symbol, and they were on the endangered species list as recently as 2007.
Magill said it's been a blessed journey watching these beautiful birds conquer it all.
November and December is their traditional egg-laying season, so keep an eye on that Eagle Cam because you never know what might happen in the coming days.
And if you'd like to help support the Ron Magill Conservation Endowment, click here.
