WATCH: Eaglet slips off branch, flies to nearby pasture

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The eagle's nest that captivated the country as it waited for the hatching of an eaglet named "E9" was empty for a large part of the day Tuesday. The eagle, which is now a little more than two months old had been venturing out of the nest and onto nearby branches when it accidentally fledged to the ground.

RELATED: Growing eaglet flaps and ventures outside nest

Early Tuesday morning, as E9 was "wingercizing," flapping its wings on the perch to get stronger, the eaglet took a short flight to another branch, then slipped and "flew" to the ground. 

Shortly after, E9's mother, Harriet, and father, "M15," brought their eaglet food while it was in a nearby field. E9 was seen trying to fly back to the nest, but missed a branch and glided out of view. 

Around lunchtime, Southwest Florida Eagle Cam tweeted that E9 was last seen flying toward the west pasture tree line and they believe the eaglet was resting with Mom and Dad nearby. 

The live web camera, which sits above the eagle's nest on the Dick Pritchett Real Estate property in Fort Myers, has been sharing the lives of the bald eagle family since 2012. This eaglet, E9, was born on December 21, 2016 to Harriet and "M15." 

WATCH: Harriet and M15's first eaglet hatches 

MORE: Eaglet eats, grows; second egg shows no sign of hatching

WATCH: E9 tries to make it back to nest below:

Watch the eaglet's progress any time below: