Saturday, June 28, 2008

Smile, Ethel ... and Oscar

Came across something rather cool in yesterday's Chronicle Herald ... a pair of ospreys (Ethel and Oscar) and their lone offspring online with their own personal webcam. They make their home near a lake somewhere within the Halifax Regional Municipality. Apparently, despite the webcam, these little twitters would still like to maintain their privacy.

This is mom and dad's second season online. Last year they laid three eggs, but the smallest chick was killed five days later and an owl killed the remaining two weeks before they would have taken their first flight. Talk about reality programming - many watched the sad event happen online. We're all wishing the family better luck this year.

You might want to share it with your own young'uns. Let their imagination take flight, so to speak. But it can take a while to get the signal so just be patient.

5 comments:

Casdok said...

Fasinating! Am off to have a look!

Anonymous said...

I work at Travelers Insurance headquarters in downtown Hartford, CT. We've had a "Falcon Cam" for several years, to document the annual nesting of a pair of Peregrine Falcons. Unfortunately they did not return this year, but it's a beautiful thing to watch.

This year, there is an Eagle Cam out of Maine that has an active nest. Go here and enjoy.

Michelle Morgan-Coole said...

Thanks, Kris.
The eagles are a pretty big thing around here too. Every February we have a one to two week Eagle Watch. No live cams, just live watching. You can even go have your hot breakfast while you're at it.

Old Broad said...

Have been watching Oscar and Ethel since their return, from nest repairs, mating, egg laying, hatching and now Junior who has grown like a weed over the past couple of months. His parents are brilliant...bringing him lots of fish and keeping the nest in good order. Junior took his first flight this morning and has been in and out of the nest many times throughout the day. Very exciting stuff. S/he is still a bit clumsy taking off and landing, but am sure skills will develop quickly. Am hoping to see him/her with his first catch. After that, he'll be stuffing himself to get ready for the flight south in a couple of months.

Michelle Morgan-Coole said...

Thanks for the update, Old Broad. Very cool and it's good to know that Oscar, Ethel and the family are doing well.