DNR Eagle Cam Update - Cam to be down for mintenance this weekend

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Hello eagle fans!    Eagle cam to be down for maintenance this weekend. 

The three chicks at our eagle cam nest are all doing well and the parents are feeding them very regularly. You may have noticed that as each egg hatched, the chick was not fed immediately. This is normal. Chicks fresh out of the egg will sustain themselves on the nutrition they consumed while still in the egg - for up to 48 hours.

Since hatching, they have grown immensely.  The parents have been bringing in lots of food to cache and feed.  This week, we've seen squirrel, rabbit, pigeon, duck and fish, fish and more fish!   Just today we have witnessed several feedings.  Some have expressed concern over the youngest chick, that it may not be getting enough food.  If you've watched this camera the last two years, you know that this happens every year!  Does that mean the little one will come out ok?  Maybe.  We will keep an eye on it.  Year one, all three eggs froze.  Year two, the eldest chick was injured and had to be euthanized.  Last year, one chick was struggling and was fed by the parent to the other two chicks.  This is the harsh reality of nature.  That chick became very important protein and nourishment for the two surviving chicks.

At some point in the near future, a new “boot” device will be installed as part of the eagle cam system . This device will automatically re-start the camera when we lose connectivity to it. This should solve the occasional spinning wheel that many of you have seen in the past. The choppiness and occasional dark screen are separate issues that will be explored while the new “auto-reboot” device is installed. The installation will take an hour or so, and it needs to happen during daylight hours, so the camera will need to be turned off for this maintenance.

The additional news is there will be nearby technical maintenance happening this weekend. This work has nothing to do with the eagle cam, and is physically no where near the camera, but it will require a power outage in the area of the cam for two days this weekend. The power will go black at about 6 am Saturday, March 19th, and will turn back on by about 6 PM, Sunday, March 20th. We apologize in advance for this disruption, but it is out of our hands. Since the power will be turned completely off, the camera will not be streaming, filming or recording.

Finally, we are grateful for the generous donations we have received.  We could not do this work without them.  Thank you!  However, we are still very far from the donations we need to continue our statewide Nongame Wildlife Program.  During the recession, our program lost many permanent donors and donations and we still have not completely recovered from that. Only 1.2% of individual income tax forms show a donation.  Please consider a donation today.  All donations to our fund are matched by our Critical Habitat License Plate fund.  We want to continue to bring you this cam year after year, and if we could raise enough in donation funds, we could add more wildlife cameras and launch additional educational and beneficial program efforts.  Donate here.

We encourage you to take this camera outage time this weekend as an opportunity to spend the weekend outdoors, possibly looking for eagles in your own neighborhoods or nearby recreation areas! Here in Minnesota, the weather is unpredictable, but we Minnesotans aren't afraid to participate in outdoor activities no matter what the weather.  Have a great weekend!