Eaglecam 2014
March 26, 2014 10:41 AM   Subscribe

Three bald eagle chicks recently hatched on Catalina Island, just southwest off the coast of Long Beach, California. Now you can watch a live cam of the mother and her hatchlings. [UStream]

Bald eagles were once a common sight on Catalina, but the population was decimated in the 1970s by a massive runoff of the pesticide DDT from the Montrose chemical plant. Rebuilding [PDF] the bald eagle population has been difficult due to the continued presence of DDT in Catalina's environment.

Catalina currently has eight pairs of adult bald eagles, with seven active nests between them.
posted by mykescipark (19 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think that last sentence should read "Catalina currently has..." Even 15 years ago, California had at least 150 breeding pairs. Here's another bald eagle nest cam from a very different part of the state.
posted by one_bean at 10:51 AM on March 26, 2014


And here's one from the other side of the country (where I spent my freshman year of college so long ago).
posted by TedW at 11:09 AM on March 26, 2014


Aw, that's just right down the road.

As my daughter would say, "They're SO CUTE!!"
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:17 AM on March 26, 2014


I think something's wrong with the stream, even when I turn my audio all the way up I can't hear The Star-Spangled Banner.
posted by whir at 11:22 AM on March 26, 2014 [4 favorites]


I think something's wrong with the stream, even when I turn my audio all the way up I can't hear The Star-Spangled Banner.

That's supposed to be playing inside your head, commie.
posted by Mooski at 11:25 AM on March 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Is this from the same people who set up the eagle stream last year? I seem to remember that one ending when one of the pair was killer by a truck.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 11:25 AM on March 26, 2014


It's the fucking Catalina Wine Mixer.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 11:31 AM on March 26, 2014


Welp, there's my productivity.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 11:37 AM on March 26, 2014


Minnesota's eagle cam. All I can see is big eagle right now, but they had an egg hatch a day or two ago and the Facebook page linked there says another is hatching as of about an hour ago.
posted by clavicle at 12:00 PM on March 26, 2014


What I love about bald eagles is that they're so fierce- and badass-looking. Like, they have seriously killer talons and that beak can do some damage. But after all that, bald eagles have the silliest, most incongruous, high-pitched cry.

I love that. It's akin to finding out that they were frilly underwear under all those feathers.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:47 PM on March 26, 2014 [4 favorites]


Also, the eagle in the linked cam just moved and I see now that she has a huge kind of badge on her wing ("82"). Why? Why not just a leg band? What they have on her wing seems so incredibly obtrusive and obstructive, like it would even pose a problem as she flies.
posted by mudpuppie at 12:52 PM on March 26, 2014


From my hometown: Decorah Eagles
posted by hal9k at 12:59 PM on March 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


Also, the eagle in the linked cam just moved and I see now that she has a huge kind of badge on her wing ("82"). Why? Why not just a leg band? What they have on her wing seems so incredibly obtrusive and obstructive, like it would even pose a problem as she flies.

via: "juvenile bald eagles are given identification bands, wing tags and transmitters, allowing us to monitor their movements."
posted by inigo2 at 1:21 PM on March 26, 2014


AMERICA: disgusting creatures that also happen to soar majestically
posted by nicebookrack at 1:50 PM on March 26, 2014 [1 favorite]


bald eagles have the silliest, most incongruous, high-pitched cry

For many decades television and movies, and particularly TV advertisements have commonly dubbed a red-tailed hawk cry over video of a soaring bald eagle, since bald eagles sound like a herring gull that has just inhaled helium.
posted by mcstayinskool at 2:08 PM on March 26, 2014 [2 favorites]


hal9k, I'm waiting to see if any of the Decorah eggs hatch after the freeze. They are my favorite eagles, partially because they are clearly good Civilization players. They build their city right next to the special extra fish resource hex.
posted by tavella at 2:59 PM on March 26, 2014 [2 favorites]


Here's the Pittsburgh Eagle Cam which is actually right in the city. The chicks are due to hatch today but not seeing them yet. Great video from last month of the eagle fending off a raccoon trying to steal eggs.
posted by octothorpe at 3:33 PM on March 26, 2014


Gotta represent the surliest neighborhood in LA and say that Catalina is off the coast of San Pedro! Most people leave from Long Beach, now, but for most of the time if you went to Catalina you left from Pedro.
posted by twjordan at 6:36 PM on March 26, 2014


Pedro?

Tourists and Sporties.

True Surlies leave for Catalina from the dock at Fish Harbor, Terminal Island.
posted by notyou at 8:06 PM on March 26, 2014


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