This morning, I’m sitting at my computer and I’m snooping on eagles. It’s spring, and that means there are so many opportunities to learn about life cycles. But how many of us get a chance to get up close and personal with an eagle’s nest or a hummingbird’s home? Not many, until the advent of online streaming wildlife cams.
It’s a chilly, rainy, and wet day. I’m sitting in the comfort of my office watching the eagle tough it out on the big nest that’s about an hour’s drive from my house. The eagle is sitting there stoically, its feathers whipping around as the rain and wind blow onto it from the water. Today (or soon!) its eggs should be hatching. So exciting! And such a tough eagle!
Eagles are not your typical backyard sparrow or robin. You don’t see them up close very often. While the robin might hop around sedately on your lawn, looking for worms, the eagles are most likely far up the sky, soaring above. That’s why a nest cam is such an amazing opportunity to see the eagles.
Eagles mate for life, and they build giant nests that can weigh tons! The eagles work together to add to the nest throughout the year, making nests that are at least 5 feet wide. Eagles can use their nests for decades, so they make them in sturdy living trees that will hopefully stand for many years to come!
If you want to snoop on the eagles today or any other day, you can find the Hancock Wildlife Foundation’s cam here. There are other eagle cams about too, and some of those even have babies already! But this week is hatching time for the White Rock eagles, so it’s a good day to stay glued to your computer, with the cam operating in the background. If you’re out all day, never fear: come night time, you can also see the eagles in infrared.
There are also forums that are associated with the cams, so if you want to keep up with the latest news and don’t have time to watch the eagle cam all day, you can check in for the animals’ latest adventures on the forum.
Image Credit: Jewelanne