Since two Bald Eagles in Decorah, Iowa, laid their eggs on February 23, the family of five have amassed hundreds of millions of viewers from their high-quality webcam.
However, this week, the three young eaglets have taken their maiden voyage, causing distressed viewers to post on the Facebook page that they have “empty-nest syndrome” and already miss the young eaglets.
Although the three eaglets are still hanging around the area and will probably do so for six more weeks, Bob Anderson, the man behind the webcam, said to a local news station that the stream will be shut down this week.
“Once they start flying a lot they’re going to be perched on houses and other trees and they’re going to be out of camera view so when that takes place we’ll probably shut the bird cams off,” said Anderson.
It’s been an amazing educational tool over the past few months and the webcam’s been viewed 135 million times from people around the world. The mere exposure to nature and the Bald Eagles is great for people. This is how Anderson put it:
“It has turned into what is probably the world’s most logged-on wildlife education tool on earth. Hundreds of thousands of people have been able to see the wonder of nature, the cruelty of nature and the awe of nature. It has been an incredibly popular wildlife education tool. I think it’s unparalleled.”
If you’re already getting saddened and feel lonely, there’s no need to worry. Anderson is still planning on giving updates on the whereabouts of the eaglets after he bands them with a tracking device. Also, once the two parents begin building their nest in October, you can expect to start seeing another high-quality webcam aimed at them again.
And who knows, maybe when one of the eaglets gets older, they’ll have their own webcam too. You can’t beat a good spinoff to a successful reality show.
