CELEBRATE EARTH DAY by Watching Young Eagles in the Nest

Bald Eagles, Fraser Point, Santa Cruz Island, CA. 

Today is Earth Day when we celebrate the Earth and the natural world. What better way to get a close look at nature than to watch a family of bald eagles at their nest. I am watching (on my computer) a nest in California on Fraser Point on Santa Cruz Island. A video cam of the nest gives a 24/7 live feed of the activity at the nest--beginning from the time the parents laid their first egg in February and eventually (sometime early this summer) to the day when the young eaglets fledge.

Illustration by Caroline Arnold, A BALD EAGLE'S WORLD

I began watching eagle nest cams on my computer when I was doing research for my book A BALD EAGLE'S WORLD (PictureWindow Books, 2010.) By watching the birds' behavior I learned valuable information for my text and the close-up views were crucial for my art. Now, every year during the spring when eagles are nesting, I tune into the nest cams on my computer and check in to see how the eagles are doing. 

The Fraser Point video cam is just one of a number of eagle nests around the nation that you can watch on your computer. Search for "bald eagle nest cam" to find one near you. 

Watch Jackie and Shadow and their two chicks in their nest at Big Bear in California on YouTube.

Note: Prints of my illustrations for A Bald Eagle's World are available at my Etsy Site.

BALD EAGLE NEST ON CATALINA ISLAND

Mother and 6 week old eaglet at the Two Harbors Nest, Catalina, California

Its nesting time for eagles on Catalina and I'm watching the chick grow up in the Two Harbors nest--on the live video cam. Hatched March 25th, the chick is now at that awkward age. On Thursday, May 15, at around 1:00 pm it was tagged. Here is the chick next to Mom (#82 Liberty) just before she was tagged. The chick has been identified as a girl.  Her tag is K43.
Every year I keep watch on the Catalina eagle nests via the live video.  If you want to watch what s happening at the Two Harbors Bald Eagle nest on Santa Catalina Island, California go to http://www.ustream.tv/two-harbors-cam . The nest is active from February through July. Please visit the Channel Islands Live! Eagle CAM Discussion Forum for current and past happenings at all of the eagle nests, as well as weekly updates from the biologists in the field. There are multiple cameras, so please click here for all the cams and chat combined.
You can learn more about eagles in my book A Bald Eagle's World (Picture Window Books, 2010). 

Update, June 18:  The chick fledged yesterday, flying easily from the nest and out of view.  Now we will have to wait until next year for the parents to return to the nest site and raise a new family.