Two words: baby eagles. Two more words: . How can anyone resist? Thanks to the , you can the antics of a few, er, fuzzbald eagles in their nest in Decorah, Iowa, from the comfort of your computer. Even when snacking on bloody carrion, the young raptors are adorable. (I鈥檝e been sitting here, mesmerized, for several minutes now.)
Built by a bald eagle pair that's been together since late 2007, the nest perches 80 feet up a cottonwood tree "located on private property, near the Decorah Fish Hatchery (operated by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources), on the banks of the babbling waters of Trout Run in extreme northeast Iowa," according to that streams the camera feed. The avian pair's first eaglet of 2011 broke out of its shell a few days ago, on April 2; the Raptor Resource Project put some clips together so you can relive the experience . The newbie's sibling wasn鈥檛 long to follow, the family on April 3. If you鈥檙e lucky, you might just witness the third birthday (hatchday?)鈥攅aglet #3's debut should occur within a few days.
Wildlife cams seem to be everywhere (at some others that we鈥檝e blogged about), but as my colleague and avid birder Heidi DeVos put it in an email to me, 鈥淭his is a pretty amazing bird cam鈥攕mooth action, and lots of sound. I'm watching it now in what must be a windy day in Iowa, and I can really hear the wind rushing around. Very different from most bird nest cams!鈥 What do you think?