My first introduction to watching streaming video came as a link from a friend. The link brought me to Norfolk Botanical Garden (NBG) located in Virginia. Oh the excitement of watching momma eagle hatch three eggs. These eaglets gained worldwide fame as "The Rock Stars." A sad day in April 2011 when NBG announced that momma eagle had been killed by a commercial commuter plane. I think the hearts of the world stopped that day. At the age the eaglets were, the demand for food was high. Poppa eagle could not feed and care for these three alone
Imagine having triplets and before each feeding you had to run to the grocery store leaving the three alone in a basket on your front lawn! So you get the picture. Trying to catch food and bring it home, while having to keep a watchful eye to protect the babies from other threats. Together, the NBG, The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), and The Wildlife Center of Virginia (WCV) made the decision to remove the eaglets from the nest and relocate them to the WCV, until such time they could be released.
It was during this time that the WCV realized the power of the Internet. Cards, letters, cookies, meals, and donations flooded the center. Because these eaglets were on a streaming cam at NBG, the demand from the public was overwhelming for WCV. They set up a cam so the world could watch. The Rock Stars, NX, NV, and NZ, known by their leg band designations, grew and thrived and in July of 2011 were released to the wild from a plantation in Virginia. NX was fitted with a transmitter which checks in regularly. I'll list a few links at the end of this blog that will lead you to several of these wonderful organizations and cams.
Simultaneously, I began watching several cams. The Decorah Iowa eagles; The White Rock eagle nest; the George Miksch Sutton cams; and several others. Yes I became an eagle addict, however, you'll be happy to read that I have now expanded my interests. Along with the eagle cams, I now follow an Osprey nest in N.C., a Hummingbird nest in California, and others!
It is truly amazing what these birds go through. The exhaustion of laying an egg, the dedication of sitting on the eggs, turning them at regular intervals, protecting them from invaders etc. Then the hatch! The realization of heartbreak, ours, not the eagles. Unlike us, the birds have no real sense of pain or mourning when one of the eaglets perish. Nature was designed this way.
The perils of laying an egg totally drains the energy of these great birds. Here's a screen capture of the Decorah mom after laying her second egg, minutes before a snow storm.
She laid motionless until morning.
These creatures are truly amazing. Although protective of their off-spring, sometimes nature intervenes. At one nest there were three babies in the evening, when morning came there were two. No one knows what happened. In another nest momma accidentally stepped on a baby during feeding, one her talons pierced the eaglet, it did not survive. In yet another, a newly hatched chick exposed to a severe drop in nighttime temperatures and a freezing rain, died from hypothermia. Yes, heart breaking, but that is natures way and we have to accept it as that.
We are watching but a few wonders of nature captured by technology. Imagine all those we don't see.
I find this window into the private world of Eagles, Osprey, Owls, and others just amazing. The care and protection given by the parents mirrors our own. The sense of responsibility is keen. the way a mother eagle forms an umbrella with her wings to protect her young from the elements; or the tenacity a hummingbird shows against an invading lizard, absolutely awesome.
This blog entry is to share with and introduce you to a few of these wonders. For me to share in type all that I have witnessed through the wonderful world of web cam technology would take volumes. Rather I will share with you links to some of the cams I frequent, as well, as a link to my online photo album. There you'll find screen captures and videos I've taken.
Enjoy the backstage experience as Mother Nature opens her blinds and lets you in. And what a wonderful world it is. Look close, you'll see a momma owl, she is sitting on eggs!
Note: Many of these cams are solar powered and exposed to the elements. So if you get a blank screen don't fret, it just doesn't have the sun power to operate. And then sometimes when it might be raining or snowing, the video might be blurred or obscured due to the elements on the lens. Also the refresh rate on some of these cams is not that great, so if there is fast movement, you'll get a distorted image for a bit. This happens a lot at the Osprey nest.
Here are a few links: Click on title and then click on the go to link field. I've tested these and they appear to be working fine.
My Online Album - Updated periodically
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