Big Bear Lake Bald Eagle Nest Cam

[DeniseM]

I've been watching this eagle webcam for several years and it's fascinating. This pair of eagles are incubating 2 eggs, which should start hatching (pipping) any time. Before we can see anything happening on the camera, the eagles start acting like they can hear the chicks vocalizing or chipping away at their eggs, and they will start looking and listening closely to the eggs. Because it's a common question: there is a light on the nest, but it's not visible to the eagles or humans with the naked eye - only the camera can see it. Both the male and the female sit on the eggs, but at night, it's always the female:

 

[vikingsholm]

We recently drove from Salt Lake City to Steamboat Springs. In a period of an hour, we saw 5 bald eagles along the road.

Several were picking at roadkill off to the side of the road, but a few were just flying around the area.

Had only seen a few in the past here and there, never that many in such a short time.

 

[DeniseM]

Here is a close up of the eggs from earlier today:

The female is about 3 feet long, and eagle eggs are close to the size of a tennis ball:

 

[nomoretslt]

We saw an eagle sitting in a tree in the community we are building our home in (SE NC). Never saw one so close up. The crows were going nuts! He just sat there like “ go ahead and try it”.
Thanks for posting! I used to watch the Decora eagle cam....forgot about it.

 

[rickandcindy23]

That is very cool, Denise!

 

[nomoretslt]

I’ve been watching the cam on and off....was rewarded a few minutes ago when the male flew back, the female got up and I saw one chick had hatched. So cute! The other egg is still intact.

 

[DeniseM]

Yes, the first chick hatched yesterday - the eggs were layed 3 days apart, so that is to be expected.

 

[Bunk]

@DeniseM Thank you for posting this. I've kept this open on my screen much of today. It was really windy a few minutes ago.

 

[DeniseM]

The nest is located above 5,000 feet, and over 100 ft. up in a tree, so it's windy a lot of the time.

 

[Bunk]

Which came first, the eagle or the cam? Do they mount the cam because the eagle has built already built a nest or do they leave the cam there because the eagles always build a nest at that spot?

 

[nomoretslt]

And how does the cam get up there? I sent the link to my daughter and she and her students have been watching. They got all excited because they saw the little one getting fed. Crazy weather. It was snowing this morning, now the fog is so thick you can’t see the lake.

 

[Mongoose]

I've been watching this eagle webcam for several years and it's fascinating. This pair of eagles are incubating 2 eggs, which should start hatching (pipping) any time. Before we can see anything happening on the camera, the eagles start acting like they can hear the chicks vocalizing or chipping away at their eggs, and they will start looking and listening closely to the eggs. Because it's a common question: there is a light on the nest, but it's not visible to the eagles or humans with the naked eye - only the camera can see it. Both the male and the female sit on the eggs, but at night, it's always the female:

Thank you!! I'm going there in two weeks. This has me excited!

 

[DeniseM]

This has been the location of an eagles nest for many years, but it's only used during breeding season. Eagles don't sit in nests unless they have eggs or young. A local nonprofit applied for and received a permit to put a nonintrusive camera in the tree, during the off-season. They hired a wild life specialist to climb the tree and install the camera. On youtube, below the video, there is lots of info about the history of the nest, previous hatchings, and everything you could want to know.

This is the normal breeding season for bald eagles so they are used to the cold and to protecting their eggs and young. Eagles have a normal body temperature of 106º, and they have thick, waterproof feathers. You will notice that they don't leave the egg and chick uncovered unless they are feeding them, or trading off.

 

[Brett]

Bald eagles have started nesting this month in coastal Virginia

 

[rhonda]

Sad news from CBS LA: Big Bear wildlife activist who spearheaded Eagle Nest Cam, Sandy Spears, dies.

Link: