Eagle Eye Cam

Last winter, a man living on Hornby Island, BC, decided, after watching two eagles nesting in a tree on his property for several years, to share it with the world. He secreted a camera close above the nest and fed the output into his home, and subsequently onto the web.
The Eagle cam was born. The nesting pair returned, and laid two eggs. Now it seems the world is watching Doug Carrick's eagles.
Schools are broadcasting the LIVE stream. Banks have it above waiting lines. Office computers have it running behind work stuff. And the website is getting upwards of two MILLION hits a day. People from everywhere in the world are now enthralled with the vicarious daily show of the parents tending their aerie and awaiting the birth of two new eaglets!
An accompanying forum allows visitors to leave messages and information. Some are capturing the stream and posting pictures. There have been tender moments when the male returned with a fish for his mate. Another when he gently nudged her off the nest for his turn. (they switch about every two hours) Another when he lay his head on her shoulder in a wonderful moment of tenderness.
The world has adopted these great birds, and in spite of their strength and world reputation as fierce preditors, we are seeing live, what the creatures that we share this planet with have to do to survive. And as always, their fate is in our hands.
If you too, want to become an addicted eagle watcher, go to the link. It will be a humbling experience. Doug Carrick and the folks at Infotec have used the wonder of the latest technology to bring us this glimpse into the lives of two very special eagles. And when it is too dark to see, they replay the day for you!
Thank you, Doug, for enriching our lives.

UPDATE: Eagle Eye cam is now getting 3.3 million hits a DAY and over 73 million views in the last month!

UPDATE 2: After getting upwards of 10 million people a day looking to see eaglets, sadly the eggs didn't hatch. It was still an exciting experience to observe these beautiful eagles nesting. And the lesson for the future is an awareness of our environment and how fragile the lives of wild creatures are. We all have an obligation to make sure we share the planet as it is theirs too. Hopefully we'll have an eagle cam next year too.

http://www.infotecbusinesssystems.com/wildlife/default.asp

For a fabulous insight into the life and personality of an eagle, please read Conversations With An Eagle by Brenda Cox, available at your local bookstore through distributor HarperCollins - ISBN # 15550548115. (also at Amazon.ca) It is an entertaining, humourous and informative book about an intimate relationship between Brenda and an eagle.