Life on the Inter-nest! Eagle Web Cam NEW NEW NEW

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 04:00 PM

photo from eagle web cam courtesy Hancock House Publishers

Opinion250 has added something new. On the left side of the home page you will see an icon that says "Eagle Web Cam." This is your first step to live, streaming video of a nesting pair of eagles. By clicking on that icon, you will travel to the forum page for HancockHouse Publishers you will find the line that reads "Bald Eagle Nesting - Hornby Island, British Columbia" When you click on that line, you will be taken to the live, streaming video of an eagle on the nest.

It is the most amazing thing.... although there are some minor glitches, ( sometimes the shot freezes) but , when it's rolling, you will see Mother Nature's version of "Survivor" , and we can thank two men, Doug Carrick and David Hancock for this uncensored visit with nature.

When Doug Carrick retired to Hornby Island, he found a new hobby.

Eagle watching.

Over the past 17 years, he has been keeping track of the goings on at every nest on the island, but there is one nest in particular that has his, and now the world’s, full attention.

In a tree across the road from his home, there is a nest. When he first started watching it, he asked the owners of the property if he could put a closed circuit camera near the nest. The neighbours said no, so Doug continued to watch the birds from a distance.

Then the property changed hands, and Doug asked the new owners if he could put a closed circuit camera close to the nest. This time, the new neighbours said yes. So Doug went about making sure he had all the right paperwork from the proper government agencies, and set up a camera.

He watched the nest for years, and made some video tapes. It was when one of those tapes was being shown that he made a connection with David Hancock, a raptor lover, biologist, an expert on eagles and owner of Hancock House Publishing, which specializes in books about raptors. A closed circuit camera was just a first step, Hancock provided the dollars and the know how to upgrade the camera to a web-cam.

Opinion 250, in conjunction with Hancock House Publishers, welcomes you to visit this live site. We are certain this site will open your eyes to a whole new world. We call it “Life on the Inter-nest”

The nest you will visit is one of 14 on Hornby Island.

“It’s so hard to believe that people all over the world are watching this nest” says Doug Carrick. “My wife’s sister is keeping an eye on it from Australia, and yesterday I had a call from Costa Rica, it is just wonderful!”

What has the 73 year old learned about Bald Eagles after all these years? “The female is the boss” says Carrick “she is far more aggressive than the male.”

Has he named any of the eagles? “Well, I thought that since they truly are the Monarchs of this island, that I would call them Phillip and Elizabeth, but after watching the eagles so closely, I have come to believe the eagles are far nobler.”

Click on the Eagle photo on the menu side of our home page, that will begin your bird’s eye view of “Life on the Inter-nest "

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