Webcam on Telescope Trained on Pair Raising Young Chicks

By Alicia Inns, KTVZ.COM POSTED: 5:13 pm PDT April 24, 2011 UPDATED: 7:23 pm PDT April 24, 2011

BEND, Ore. – Ever wondered what a golden eagle’s nesting habitat looked like up close and personal?  Well now you can check it out with just the click of a mouse. Two golden eagles in Central Oregon had two chicks that hatched on April 1st and 3rd. This nest is nearly 200 feet above the ground on a cliff overlooking Whychus Creek.

Golden eagles make their nests on the side of canyons so it’s extremely difficult and rare to film them this close. A few members of the community have a 7.5-inch Meade Telescope trained on the nest from across the canyon, about a quarter-mile away from the operator’s house. A local non profit organization called Wolftree, an outdoor science education program for local kids, owns the property that the nest is on.

By simply logging on, you can watch the mother and father raise their two youngsters.

“Its very difficult to film them like this, compared to a bald eagle, because with a bald eagle, you can get a camera up into an adjacent tree real easily, but to have the ability on a cliff to be able to see in the nest is very unique,” said Forrest Babcock, operator of the live camera.

“We are just really lucky to be in the right place,” Babcock said Sunday, “and I’ve learned a tremendous amount just seeing them, and I think other people feel the same way.

“Babcock also said the best time to watch the nest is early in the morning and later in the evening, when the picture quality is at its best.

If you’d like to watch the golden eagles live, visit www.goldeneaglecam.com / or www.beoutside.org. or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsZlRSC8Bu0