People from around the world visit the EagleCam each nesting season for close views they could never witness in the field.

Minnesotans are celebrating the 10th Anniversary of streaming the behavior of nesting Bald Eagles across the country and around the world via a live webcam that has provided intimate looks of the pair as they incubate eggs and raise nestlings, watching as they grow and eventually fledge. Initially, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Bald Eagle cam only attracted a couple of hundred viewers, but thanks to YouTube thousands of people from all 50 states and more than 150 countries have observed the nesting eagles.

“It was pretty new at the time to have a live streaming camera in a wild bird nest, let alone a Bald Eagle nest,” explained Lori Naumann with the MDNR in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), noting that it took nearly a decade to get the necessary permits and approvals before going live in January 2013.

This year’s nesting season is off to an exciting start after the female Bald Eagle laid the first egg February 15 about 12:30pm, laying a second egg Saturday February 18 just before noon. The male has been providing food and trading places with the female to participate in incubating the eggs. The free mate is never far away, keeping a watchful eye over the nest for intruders or potential predators, and both eagles periodically deliver more nesting material.

Incubation continues for 34 to 39 days, so the nest will get ever-more exciting to watch around the first day of spring, when there could be newly hatched eagle nestlings to monitor through their nest-based growth, including feeding sessions provided by the adults. It’s even interesting to check in at night to see the sometimes unusual positions that the incubating eagle sleeps in – it’s all very enlightening to see such intimate views of our national birds. To begin making regular observations of the nesting bald Eagles, see DNR EagleCam | Minnesota DNR (state.mn.us) and you can see how quickly the nestlings will grow at DNR EagleCam | Minnesota DNR (state.mn.us)