EYES ON OUR EAGLES
IN A TREE SOMEWHERE — Late last week, high above a clear blue lake, perched in a nest of branches and boughs, a bald eagle laid an egg. Or perhaps two. And the show began.
Time was when only the eagle and its mate would have born witness, but this year, thousands were watching. And on into spring, thousands more will tune in to see eagles take turns atop their eggs.
“Our beautiful, brave Shadow!” one observer wrote.
“So great to see him still tending to his family!”
The bald eagle holds a special place in the American psyche. Native nations revere the bird and cherish its feathers. Coins, bills, and our national seal portray the mighty eagle, arrows clasped in claws.
But currency and culture cannot explain our awe. Our fascination begins with a seven-foot wingspan on a windless glide. Anyone who has seen an eagle soar will never forget the power, the grace, the majesty. And now, thanks to technology, the chance to see a pair up close has turned this national symbol into an Internet meme.
Jackie and Shadow. Glenda and Grant. Liberty and Freedom. These are the stars of America’s eagle webcams. Now online at a computer near you, dozens of live webcams are watching bald eagles. Watching as they micro-manage their nests. Watching as they lay eggs. Watching as they sit and sit — and sit — atop them.
“This week Liberty and Freedom have been diligently incubating the Hanover egg,” writes Zoey Greenberg, keeper of the Hanover Eagle Blog in Hanover, PA. Like most eagle cams, Hanover’s includes explanations of eagle behavior, Q&A, a chatroom, and videos in case you missed any of the action.
Closely watched eagles are nothing new in America. Since 1940, when Congress passed the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the birds have been carefully monitored. But early eagle watching brought bad news. Some 300,000 pairs once roamed free, but by the 1960s, just 412 were left.
In 1967, the bald eagle — our national bird! — landed with a flutter on the endangered species list. Hunters were partly to blame, but DDT was the chief culprit, softening shells and rendering male eagles sterile.
Then in 1972, the fledgling EPA banned DDT. Recovery took another generation but by the 1990s, nesting pairs numbered several thousand. No longer endangered, not even “threatened,” the bald eagle is back! And Americans are watching.
Through a webcam high in an oak near Decorah, Iowa, they’re watching Mom and DNF as they tend an egg laid on February 20. To the roar of ambient winds, the Decorah eagle cam shows a proud parent sitting on her (or his?) treasure. Watch:
On a clear afternoon near Big Bear Lake in Southern California, some 2,000 people are watching Shadow and Jackie tend to eggs that, alas, are no longer “viable.” With the lake in the background, one eagle or another keeps watch. Do they know? In the chatroom, watchers speculate. “Perhaps they stay more to protect their territory than out of the need to incubate the eggs.”
Some eagle cams are a little dull. When eagles have moved on, the camera shows an empty nest. Others present a drama worthy of David Attenborough. Zoey Greenberg remembers seeing an eagle chick fall out of the nest, only to climb back in a few days later.
And the blog at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Reserve in Oklahoma reports: “Life in the wild is never dull. . . Shortly after 4 PM on Saturday, the incubating eagle was attacked by an intruding eagle. Less than an hour later, there was a second attack. The intruder was apparently repelled both times, but at the cost of one egg, which had significant damage.”
Because many viewers are kids in classrooms, most eagle cam websites warn: “Things like sibling rivalry, predators, and natural disaster can affect this eagle family and may be difficult to watch.” But watching eagles is both contagious and communal.
“I have been very heartened by the degree of daily commitment to the eagles that the community of viewers demonstrates,” Ms. Greenberg told The Attic. “They seem to have truly coalesced as a group of passionate eagle enthusiasts.”
Despite federal protection, half of all eagle fledglings will not survive. Nature is harsh but people are the bird’s most dangerous predator. Power lines, cars, and shotguns account for two-thirds of eagle fatalities.
Eagles, however, mate for life. And most lay new eggs each February. Annual hatchings, captured on camera to the digital cheering of thousands, make the bald eagle’s resurgence more than just a success. Thanks to eagle cams, our national bird is becoming a nature lesson, an inspiration, and an evolving story of life in the wild.
”Some of us have an appreciation of nature that we may not have had before,” one Big Bear observer noted. Another agreed: “I never thought I’d get so obsessed with these beautiful creatures, but I have.”
