Bald Eagle Webcam

Mike · 03-25-2014, 04:38 PM

If you've got a few spare minutes....
http://webcams.dnr.state.mn.us/eagle/

AK49er · 03-25-2014, 08:36 PM

We have a nest 90 yards away out our front window. Watched the whole process all summer long last year, from sitting on the egg all the way to the immature flying away... on Sept. 11. The Eagles seem to nest there about every 3 years or so. Funny thing is we don't have a single photo of these happenings, we should start doing this stuff.

Mike · 03-25-2014, 09:59 PM

We used to follow the migration at Lake Erie, near Dunnville when we lived out that way. It was about a 30 mile trip one way. No guarantee we'd see any, so not very reliable. We did see a few over the years.

Now we just drive down the St. Clair River which is a lot closer. They were on the ice on the river a few weeks ago. About half a dozen assorted shapes and sizes, mostly bald eagles, but there may have been one or two golden eagles, or just some immature balds.

5 years ago while stuck in rush hour traffic, we saw one on a causeway between the mainland and St. Pete's Beach sitting on a lamppost. Struck us as odd back then, but we also saw one on top of a hydro line tower, in the interior of Florida between Miami and Ft. Myers, on a different trip, so it appears it's not that unusual after all, after we did some further research.

We'd love to visit some of the more mainstream migration routes. I've heard the Quad Cities area is a good place to see them in the late Winter.

90 yards from our front window would be OK, too.

Davydd · 03-25-2014, 10:20 PM

The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota is a good place to go. Wabasha is on the Mississippi River at the last point that doesn't freeze over in the winter. Most of the Bald Eagles congregate there and you can see hundreds at one time. The Center itself is interesting with lots of exhibits, demonstrations and I think at least 5 eagles in captivity you can see up close. Other than that then you would have to go to Haines, Alaska for a similar exhibit.

Mike · 03-25-2014, 10:51 PM

Thanks. Excellent suggestion. Good website, too. Looks like a bucket list addition for us.

booster · 03-25-2014, 11:26 PM

They just showed an update on the local news. One of the eggs hatched today, it appears.

Mike · 03-25-2014, 11:34 PM

I picked up the webcam link from Twitter earlier today, and that was mentioned on the tweet.
Eagles and tweets, how oddly appropriate?

We have been within 50 miles of the NEC twice, once in 2010 and again in 2011. Didn't know it was there. We'd also like to visit some of the wolf and bear sanctuaries out west nearer to the Rockies. I'd also like to spend some more time at the Elk Refuge near Jackson, WY.

Davydd · 03-26-2014, 03:05 AM

You can go to Ely, Minnesota and hit up both the North American Bear Center and the International Wolf Center. This is the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.

Mike · 03-26-2014, 01:32 PM

I had seen the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary in Orr, MN when searching a while back, and thought Orr was a bit remote, but Ely is almost in Canada, too. Do they speak Canadian there?

Both of those places for wolves/bears look interesting, but I'm having some difficulty getting their posted street addresses to resolve in my Garmin. Google maps places them in different spots than the Garmin (maps are current in the Garmin). I think it may be because they all use numeric, generic, highway numbers as their addresses. I managed to get the wolf one figured out, but the bear one is a toss up.

I often wonder why they don't just post their GPS co-ordinates and simplify locating them.
I guess if you make it to Ely or Orr, you can fall back on signage to find them.
Thanks again for the suggestions.

EDIT: I let the Garmin find the places by name, and it seems to know where they are.

Davydd · 03-26-2014, 09:41 PM

They are both on the main drag in Ely. The Bear center is just west of town and the wolf center is east of town. You can't miss them once you are there. Ely is not that big. It is a starting point to go into the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area.

Mike · 03-26-2014, 10:50 PM

That's what the Garmin said. Google maps put the bear center east of town. I figured signage would probably be as effective once in the Ely, MN area. Looks like a small town on the map. Any good eateries there?
Know much/anything about the American Bear Association? It's the one just northwest of Orr, MN.
http://www.americanbear.org/

Davydd · 03-26-2014, 11:13 PM

I was just through Orr last summer on the way to Voyageurs National Park and don't recall any bear center there or signs. I know the one in Ely is worth visiting. The head of the North American Bear Center is in a controversy with the Minnesota DNR in that they claim he has made collared bears (for tracking) too acclimated to humans and that he hadn't followed through with his research. Still the Center is a very information place to visit with lots of exhibits and captured live black bears you can view. You'll be able to see live wolves at the wolf center as well.

Eateries in Ely are not as good or as extensive as my favorite northern Minnesota town of Grand Marais on the Lake Superior North Shore. There is a Boathouse brewpub in Ely. Best breakfast in Ely would be at the Chocolate Moose.

Mike · 03-27-2014, 01:21 AM

It may have been called the Vince Shute WIldlife Sanctuary. That's how I discovered it a few years ago. I see now it's called the American Bear Association, but that doesn't sound familiar. No worries, it's probably too remote to visit. Just trying to figure out the logistics of doing the eagles and wolves and bears, oh my. Bit of a drive from Wabasha to Ely. Would give me an option to stop by Grand Marais.

I was just looking at the map, and there doesn't appear to be a direct route from Grand Marais to Ely, which is a shame.
The Chocolate Moose? How quaint.

AK49er · 04-06-2014, 04:52 AM

The eagles have started their nest rebuilding project today. Carrying sticks and dead grass clumps to the nest. Sometimes they carry the grass to the river's edge and try to mix it with mud if they if they can find it, before returning to the nest. Because the nest is about 6' across and about 3' deep the sticks they sometimes bring are pretty big. Most stick placement is about a 5 min. process, a stick will be brought to the nest and dropped in or on the top of it and then they stare at it for awhile. Once they have determined where the stick should go they do spend a little time at it trying to get it right. The grass and mud will hold it in place. They have worked on the nest in past years only to abandoned it for whatever reason, better nest somewhere else, too much noise or run off by other eagles, so only time will tell in the next month if they use it.

Mike · 04-06-2014, 12:36 PM

Sounds like they watch too much "Love it or List It" on TV.
Try the reno process first, and if that doesn't work, move to a new home down the road somewhere.

You are fortunate to be living within sight of an eagle's nest. We'd love it if a pair nested across from us, but the park's trees generally aren't big enough, and there aren't any hydro towers nearby either. We're just a migration route stopover, but that's pretty nice, too.

AK49er · 06-12-2014, 07:15 AM

Well the Eaglet(s) must have hatched sometime today as both parents have been carrying red meat to the nest since about 3pm. Due to the nest height and shear size of it, we wont be able to tell how many have hatched for about 1 month, we see heads peeking up then. Our spotting scope has been dialed into the nest since the first day, the only time it has been moved was to look at either the Moose or the springtime Brown bears that patrol the river looking for leftover food. Now that there are baby Moose (calves) starting to appear, the bears will focus on them instead of garbage on the river. Got to witness a scene just like that last year at about 60 yards!

AK49er · 06-29-2014, 07:17 PM

We can just start to see little heads above the nest pop up once in a while. Cant really tell if there is one or two yet, should be able to in about 2 weeks. Mom and Dad are feeding it (them) many times a day with either fish from the river or small critters from area, kinda cool watching through the spotting scope. The way things are going this year the meat will be the most tender in about a month, can you say Kobe Eaglet.

Mike · 06-29-2014, 09:11 PM

Simply amazing. Nature, that is.

Wish we were there.
Some day........

AK49er · 07-14-2014, 06:50 AM

Just returned from our weekly outing to find junior bouncing all around the nest. Last week we could hardly see him and today he's head and shoulder above the rim, these kids grow so fast when you feed them fish and red meat!

AK49er · 07-14-2014, 07:07 AM

Forgot to add... spent 4 days on the Kenai River area and had a great time. Must have seen close to 100 Dall Sheep on the nearby mountains in close proximity to a sow black bear with 2 cubs. The Sheep have no fear of them as they can easily outdistance the bears up, down or sideways. Also on the mountain a single Brown bear patrolled the area looking for whatever it could find to eat. The Sheep did stay a little further away though. Friday was opening day for dip netting on the Kenai so there were many folks dipping for reds. Alaska residents are allowed to use dip nets for fishing when the Reds reach a certain number in the rivers. Reds are another name for Sockeye. Anyway, we came back from a great trip to see Junior doing his thing in the nest at our house. Queen B ran like a caddy again!

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