Friday, March 15, 2013

Nesting Birdcams

"In the spring, a wild bird's fancy, lightly turns to thoughts of....." well you know what happens next.
     -Apologies to Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

From Iowa DNR
It is spring, and eggs are in the air, in some cases way up in the air.  Modern technology and the Internet have allowed us nature voyeurs to follow individual families as they are raising their chicks.

Clarkhoward.com lists their version of the top birdcams available in the web which I have reproduced below from their 'Top 10 (9) List". So far the peregrine falcon hasn't returned to the MDC birdcam so you will have to get by with osprey, terns, puffins, murres and the ever popular eagles.  

"Have you ever snuck a bird's-eye look at a wobbly eaglet as it emerges from its shell? You can, by checking in on an eagle's nest web camera, or webcam, through March. Wildlife webcams are wildly popular for taking people deep into eagles' nests, high onto osprey platforms, and deep into puffin burrows. It's the nearest you're likely to get to having wings. Birds make ideal webcam subjects because their nesting activity is contained in a small area for weeks. The best viewing is generally during the spring nesting season, when birds are most active. Here are some standout refuge birdcams:

Eagles:
1.Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
2.Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, New York (until the new camera is installed, check out the streaming eagle cam from on the campus of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services' National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia)
3.Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma

Ospreys:
4.Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
5.Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, New York
6. Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho

Common terns:
7.Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, Maine (Best live viewing: May-August)

Atlantic Puffins:
8.Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge, Maine (Best live viewing: Mid-May-August)

Common Murres:
9.Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."