What is spring at this website without an animal cam? We have a good one this year, brought to my attention by alert reader Phil. It’s a Hawk Cam run by the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology, and it shows, live, a pair of red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) who have already laid two eggs.
Here’s the information:
The new camera stream puts viewers 80 feet off the ground and right beside the nest, where they can watch the hawks arrive, see them taking turns incubating the eggs, and compare notes on the two birds—the male has a more golden-tawny face and is slightly smaller than the female, who has been nicknamed “Big Red” for her alma mater.
The nest should be active for at least the next two months, and we hope you’ll join us as we watch the young birds hatch and grow. The parents have raised young here for at least the last four years. As signs of spring began to show, the pair began adding sticks and green pine boughs to the nest, and the male started bringing prey, such as squirrels and pigeons, to offer the female. The pair now has two eggs, laid last Friday and on Monday, and we’re waiting to see if they lay a third. The birds will incubate for 28-35 days from the date the first egg is laid.
Do bookmark it; the video is crystal clear and the animals are beautiful.
Keep an eye on this site in the next few weeks. We normally get a pair of peregrines nesting in the spire of a part-demolished church.
http://www.worcester.gov.uk/peregrine/
she’s beautiful. Thank you for this.
On a sort of related topic, I’ve been thinking about the fact that we (humans) tend to “admire” predatory animals like hawks and eagles, as well as lions, tigers, etc., while looking down on scavengers like vultures and hyenas. But shouldn’t it be the opposite? Why are we impressed by nature’s killing machines but disgusted by the ones that provide such a valuable cleanup service? Some ev-psych going on here? Did our ancestors identify with the carnivores, or what? Would be curious what others think.
Reminds me of the Robert May obversation:
Personally, I don’t think it’s a matter of what our ancestors thought. I just think we’re naturally drawn to the muscular grace of predators.
I just wanted to point out that the public arm of the Cornell ornithology laboratory is a wonderful destination if you are in the area.
Thank you! Bookmarked 🙂
Some more:
http://www.beleefdelente.nl/
Oehoe = Bubo bubo
Ooievaar = Ciconia ciconia
Steenuil = Athene noctua
IJsvogel = Alcedo atthis
Boerenzwaluw = Hirundo rustica
Slechtvalk = Falco peregrinus
Thank you… beautiful! Here is another webcam, keeping an eye on bald eagles…
http://www.hancockwildlife.org/index.php?topic=cam-sites
The Lab of O has a Great Blue Heron nest streaming, too. It has two camera views and sound. Pretty cool! Recently, a Great Horned Owl attacked the female on the nest pre-dawn! Streaming link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/page.aspx?pid=2433
Owl attack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBGYPQKt3wA