June 30, 2005
Until December
We are going to officially bring our 2004-2005 Eagle Cam Web Log to a close now that Aramis is spending so little time at the nest. As we enter July, the chicks will be seen less and less as they become more independent, so it seems like a good time to end the Web Log for this season. We'll continue to operate the cam for a while longer and post comments on the cam page, and we'll continue the Gallery as well, but this message will bring a close to my eagle posts for this season.
First, I want to thank all those who participated in our amazing eagle adventure this year. It was our first online Eagle Cam, and we think it was a tremendous success, as we were privileged to watch three eaglets being born and then growing up to fledge. The added bonus of seeing Porthos go to Vermont to become a "pioneer" was just icing on the cake.
We especially appreciate all the watchers who stuck with us when the cam was accidentally moved right after the final chick was born. We've learned a lot from this season, and we hope to make some equipment changes next time that will make things go a bit more smoothly. But overall, we are very pleased with the success of the cam and with the astounding amount of cam watchers from around the world who tuned in to watch. During the height of the cam's popularity, we had watchers from Russia, Germany, Austria, Finland, Denmark, Holland, Italy, England, Wales, Canada (Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia), and many states across the U.S. And these were just some of the viewers we knew about!
At this point, the Friends of Blackwater have every intention to bring the Eagle Cam back in December 2005 for the next bald eagle breeding season here at Blackwater Refuge.
As a final "thank you" to our Eagle Cam watchers, we are offering two beautiful sunset photos taken by photographer Alan Becker. Much thanks to Alan for allowing us to post these. Both photos were taken from the Refuge Wildlife Drive and show the Blackwater River, which is where the young eagles and their parents are now hunting for food (as are the osprey parents). The photos really do justice to the beauty that is Blackwater Refuge. We hope you enjoy, and thank you again for making our first Eagle Cam season a whole lot of fun.
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For PC: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, right-click on it and choose "Set As Wallpaper" or "Set As Background" from the pop-up menu.
For Mac: Click on the link for your resolution. When the image finishes loading, click and hold on the image. Choose "Save This Image As" or "Download Image to Disk" and save the image to your hard drive. Go to the "Control Panels" and choose "Appearance" or "Desktop Patterns," and select the image as your desktop image.
Until next season,
Lisa - webmaster