Posted by
NewMexiKen on
Mar 31, 2011; 2:16pm
URL: http://bald-eagles-of-broward-county-florida.17.s1.nabble.com/Rant-about-failure-of-FPL-and-or-Comcast-NBC6-to-support-a-nest-camera-in-Pembroke-Pines-tp6227044p6227311.html
http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=14354357&Decorah eagles capture Eastern Iowa's attention
Posted: Mar 30, 2011 10:21 PM EDT
Written by Colleen O'Shaughnessy, Multimedia Journalist
DECORAH (KWWL) -
Three chicks are just days away from breaking their shells in front of tens of thousands of viewers. It's certainly had people - including us at KWWL- glued to our computers for the last month. The live feed of the Decorah Eagle Camera is part of the Raptor Resource Project -- an organization working toward the preservation of birds like eagles, falcons, and hawks.
In the last couple of days, you'll generally find Bob Anderson glued to a computer monitor. He doesn't want to miss a glimpse of three eggs, incubating under their mother's care.
The eagles we're all watching, are just a few yards from where Anderson is sitting. The nest is actually located in the backyard of Willard and Mary Ellen Holthaus, who Anderson credits for their patience and support of the project.
Anderson chose the nest because of its proximity to a busy road. He figured, if the eagles didn't mind cars driving by, they would tolerate him and his camera.
"We could light off firecrackers, cherry bombs around and the female would not get off her eggs," Anderson noted. "They're just extremely tolerant of mankind."
Anderson started the eagle camera in 2007, with a stagnant camera mounted just above the nest. Then, a few months ago, he snuck a new camera, one that tilts and zooms, closer to the birds.
"In the month of October they have the least affinity to the nest, so that's the only time we can disturb them that we know we won't drive them away," said Anderson.
Once they linked up with U-Stream, the nest went viral, boasting more than four million viewers.
"Now to think there's 30-35,000 at one time looking at it, that's just unbelievable," Anderson noted.
The moment that resonates in Anderson's mind came a few weeks ago, as he watched freezing rain pour over the young female. She cared more about protecting her eggs than focusing on her own warmth.
But the biggest impact comes in the emails and phone calls he receives from loyal viewers who are inspired by the birds eye view of mother nature.
"People in nursing homes say their clients get up in the morning and rush to the community room so they can check on "their eagles." Almost like the Eagle Camera gives them a reason to get up in the morning," Anderson said.
"One of the most touching letters I got said, Bob, my husband and I stopped talking decades ago. But anytime we log onto the Eagle Camera we start babbling like newly weds. It's so amazing how its touched and influenced so many people in so many different ways."