Bird Cam update

[annekat]

It is really astounding how much the hatchlings have grown in all four nests we've been watching. If you've missed the barn owls, eagles, red-tailed hawks, and great blue herons, you can find the info under Barn Owl or other related threads.

[Al]

They do grow up, Anne. Fun to watch!

Al

[drz]

Here is news about what we have watched:

A few months ago, millions of people turned their attention to a pair of bald eagles who were preparing to hatch three eggs in Decorah, Iowa.
Bob Anderson, director of the Raptor Resource Project, set up a webcam to capture footage and it went viral, captivating viewers around the world and providing them with the opportunity to watch a live stream of the raptors 24/7.
“It has turned into what is probably the world’s most logged-on wildlife education tool on earth. Hundreds of thousands of people have been able to see the wonder of nature, the cruelty of nature and the awe of nature. It has been an incredibly popular wildlife education tool. I think it’s unparalleled,” said Anderson.
Unbeknownst to them, they’ve become stars. Now people who’ve been following them are getting ready to watch them leave the nest. They three hatchlings have been stretching, or “branching” and moving around the tree preparing to fly this week. On Saturday, one actually took its first flight.
Anderson has plans to capture one of the eaglets and fit it with a tracking device in hopes that they will be able to follow it for a few years.
“Everybody asks what happened to the babies from last year, and I can’t answer that. I don’t know,” Anderson told Wired. This time, he plans to set up a “Where is the Decorah Eagle today?” website to track the raptor’s movements. “I’m really excited about that. We’ll finally be able to find out where these babies go.”
He also plans to return to this family of eagles next November and is also considering adding cameras to watch red-tail hawks and peregrine falcons.
In an interview with Iowa Outdoors, he added that the eagles aren’t just providing an educational opportunity, but changing people’s lives.
“I get calls sometimes from people in nursing homes that can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning to go to the community room so the can log on to their eagles. I got an email from a woman that said my husband and I quit talking for ten years. We don’t talk at all. But whenever we boot up the computer to look at the eagle cam, we talk like newlyweds. The eagle cam touches many people in many different ways, he said.
Catch a brief glimpse as one of the fledglings returns from its second flight and watch them live on Ustream.


Read more: Famous Decorah Eagles Ready for Flight | Care2 Causes

[drz]

The link above has links to a You tube video of last year when they took first flight in mid June. I live in a a nursing home complex but don't know anyone else here following or watching the eagles. In the nursing home part they enjoy watching the baby dove in the aviary in the community room and many people in the assisted living part watched the duck sitting on her nest outside one window well.

Any bets on when the eaglets will fly this year?

[Fran]

Hi Drz - I keep thinking 'here we go' every time the eaglets dash across the nest with wings flapping, but think it's just practice, so it will be a surprise one of these days soon, when one takes off. I take a look a couple of times a day, but never seem to catch the eaglets being fed much. Yesterday both parents each brought a fish back at the same time and proceeded to scoff the lot, except for a couple of small beakfuls for two of the eaglets - one going without !
Are the humming birds around the feeders ? I remember you saying previously you had them where you are. I am very jealous - such pretty things. I don't think it's consistently warm enough here in England for them.

Fran

[drz]

I bet they will fly a little earlier this year due to warmer season but their first flight will only be a short hop to nearest branch. It is unusual for three eaglets to survive and hope all make the transition to flying birds safely. Many are injured falling out the nest or during first flight attempts. If any of these eaglets get injured they should be pick up quickly by bird rehab people and get good care.

The hummers are now here. It took awhile but after putting out several plants to attract them there are some hummers coming around to the plants and feeders. A big male (for a hummingbird anyway) was here yesterday with the bright red front. Then a real young small one came. There are also a couple baby finches that often come to the seed feeder since they just learned to fly and forage for feed. The ponds have baby geese and ducks from a few days to a several weeks old. Haven't seen any baby egrets yet but there are many nesting in the trees around the lake so some should appear soon. We went to a nearby zoo today and saw the big black swans still courting as were the Peacocks. I like watching the males all fanned out and calling for a mate to join them. They look beautiful and sound weird. Great day weather wise to enjoy the outdoors. The otters were very also playful and showing off with their aquabatics. The eagle nest had a mother duck sitting in it on her eggs since the eagles were in different cages. All the birds of prey are injured birds from rehab facilities who have been fixed up but unable to fly or hunt well enough to survive in the wild. They are still beautiful and magnificent to see close up.

I got a notice that in England they are killing off their vultures due to some misguided belief it will increase the number of pheasant for rich hunters on their game farms. It is sad to me that people don't do a better job protecting the wild animals that we are so fortunate to have to share out planet. Our states are now starting to hunt wolves this years after they have been protected for years to keep them from extinction.

Hi Drz - I keep thinking 'here we go' every time the eaglets dash across the nest with wings flapping, but think it's just practice, so it will be a surprise one of these days soon, when one takes off. I take a look a couple of times a day, but never seem to catch the eaglets being fed much. Yesterday both parents each brought a fish back at the same time and proceeded to scoff the lot, except for a couple of small beakfuls for two of the eaglets - one going without !
Are the humming birds around the feeders ? I remember you saying previously you had them where you are. I am very jealous - such pretty things. I don't think it's consistently warm enough here in England for them.

Fran

[Al]

....Are the humming birds around the feeders ? I remember you saying previously you had them where you are. I am very jealous - such pretty things. I don't think it's consistently warm enough here in England for them.

Fran

Where I live, Fran, which has similar weather to much of England, we have a lot of hummingbirds (Ana's hummingbirds, to name a species), and will from now through October or so. They are supposed to be migratory, and are--usually--though my wife's brother has some that stay through the winter. They not-so-sweetly insist on being kept in nectar. We are often buzzed to alert us when the feeder is running low.

Al

[Fran]

Drz - It is true that some landowners and their gamekeepers are intent on destroying birds of prey who they say kill their gamebirds but it seems that the tide is turning against them. The plan to destroy buzzards nests has been abandoned because public opinion has caused the governments Wildlife minister to 'rethink' this move.! Not too long ago a very high up landowner near where I live and his gamekeeper were in court and heavily fined for killing kestrels by poisoning, so hopefully it doesn't all go their way these days.

The farm at the back of us has peacocks and I agree their cry is unearthly - but spookily wonderful!

Al and Drz - Just wish we had some of your little hummers !

Fran

[drz]

Glad to hear that public opinion can sometimes help correct some of these horrid moves made for silly reasons. I love our kestrels but admit being bothered when they take a chickadee or small finch from my feeders, but they have to eat too and it is natures way of weeding out the slower ones. I had Kestrels at my house since it was near lots of woods but not any at my apartment where I now live. I think we have hummers of some kind in every state in USA and most of Canada too.

A link on hummers: The Hummingbird Facts and Information

They are only found in North and South America. Wonder if they are in Hawaii?

drz

Drz - It is true that some landowners and their gamekeepers are intent on destroying birds of prey who they say kill their gamebirds but it seems that the tide is turning against them. The plan to destroy buzzards nests has been abandoned because public opinion has caused the governments Wildlife minister to 'rethink' this move.! Not too long ago a very high up landowner near where I live and his gamekeeper were in court and heavily fined for killing kestrels by poisoning, so hopefully it doesn't all go their way these days.

The farm at the back of us has peacocks and I agree their cry is unearthly - but spookily wonderful!

Al and Drz - Just wish we had some of your little hummers !

Fran

[Sangye]

Just been checking in on the bird cams again. Dang it, I missed so much of their little lives. I feel like an absentee parent. The red-tailed hawks went from fuzzy little white fluffs to looking like adults already. And the eaglets look like crows. No one in the barn owl next this morning! Nature is always moving.