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User:Raptorfandan/Doug Carrick - The Eagles of Hornby Island

The Eagles of Hornby Island

Hornby Island Eagles - Photo courtesy: Barb Biagi

Overview

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The Eagles of Hornby Island are a popular pair of bald eagles in British Columbia, Canada. The Hornby Eagles were made popular in 2006 when they were seen by millions on what is said to be the first-ever bald eagle Internet Webcast.

History

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In 1989, a pair of Bald Eagles built a nest in a Douglas fir tree near Doug Carrick’s waterfront home on Hornby Island – a small island on the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Doug observed the eagles and took notes of their activities. The eagles laid two eggs on the nest in the Spring of 1990. One eaglet fledged.

Between 1991 and 2003, thirteen additional eaglets fledged.

Year No. Fledged Year No. Fledged Year No. Fledged
1991 1 1996 1 2001 0
1992 2 1997 1 2002 0
1993 1 1998 2 2003 2
1994 2 1999 0
1995 0 2000 1

After fifteen years of observing the eagles and taking notes, Doug Carrick considered installing a surveillance camera near the nest in order to get a closer perspective of the eagles. Doug contacted Bob Chappell, a retired electronic system designer from Victoria BC who had experience installing cameras in the nests of owls, ducks, and other birds.

After conferring with Bob Chappell, Doug asked the owners of the nearby property where the nest is located for permission to install the camera. The property owners graciously granted permission.

The next step was to get permission from the Canadian Ministry of the Environment. Doug contacted them and explained that he was planning to write a book about the eagles, and that the book would be used for educational purposes. The Ministry suggested that Doug associate himself with the local colleges. He got the blessing of Vancouver Island University (formerly known as Malaspina University-College) in Nanaimo, BC and from North Island College in Courtenay, BC. At the same time, the Wildlife Tree Stewardship (WiTS) also gave their full support to the project. Doug was then granted permission by the Canadian Ministry of the Environment.

Doug was now working under a deadline because the cameras had to be installed before the beginning of October when the eagles returned to the nest from their annual feeding of spawning salmon at the northern rivers of BC and Alaska.

Doug prepared a waterproof enclosure while Bob Chappell acquired the camera and other necessary hardware.

2004

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On September 27, 2004 an arborist named Jed Young arrived to climb the tree and install the camera. The Douglas fir being close to eighteen feet in circumference was nearly impossible to climb. Jed needed to climb a smaller nearby tree for the first fifty feet and then swing across to the eagle tree for the remaining climb to the nest at the 120-foot level. The camera was installed, the cables were run, and Doug was able to see the nest close-up for the first time from the comfort of his living room.

 
Doug watches from his living room as the eagles inspect the new camera.

Doug archived the footage of the nesting eagles, and at the end of the nesting season Doug attended a Wildlife Tree Stewards conference, where he shared the footage with many eagle and wildlife experts including a man named David Hancock, founder of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation. After viewing Doug’s footage of the activities of the Hornby Eagles on the nest, David Hancock is quoted in Doug Carrick's book, The Eagles of Hornby Island - My Tree-top Neighbors, as saying: "In fifty years of watching eagles I've never seen such good pictures. Everyone in the world must see these eagles!"

Three days after returning from the Wildlife Tree Stewards conference, Doug was contacted by David Hancock. David proposed the possibility of Webcasting the eagles. Doug agreed, and soon after Richard Pitt, a computer technologies specialist, arrived at Hornby Island to begin working on the Webcasting. The analog surveillance cam and audio was encoded to a digital format and was streamed to an Infotec media server in Los Angeles.

Streaming media technology was still somewhat in its infancy and there were many technical glitches in the beginning. It was decided that the Webcast would remain private until some bugs were worked out, but the Webcast was soon discovered by eagle enthusiasts and word of mouth brought more and more new viewers. A group of bloggers somehow found the stream and word of the eagle cam traveled quickly. By the time the eagle cam Website had officially been made public there were a million “hits” per day. A few days later there were four million hits, and so on. (reference)

The media soon caught on. Doug was receiving phone calls and emails from radio, television, newspaper, and magazine people from early in the morning until late at night. Doug was overwhelmed, but pleased to be sharing information about the eagles with the world.

The nest was getting heavier every year. By its twelfth year, the supporting branches were bending under the burden. To compensate for the tilting nest, the eagles added branches to the lower side to level it. They did the same for the next two years until the supporting branches were bent so much, the nest slipped right out of the tree. This happened in early January 2004 and by March the eagles had rebuilt a new nest in the same place. One eaglet fledged from the new nest in late July.

2005

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In 2005 two eggs were laid. The first egg hatched, but six days later the chick died. The second egg pecked a hole in the egg and could be heard "peeping," but died while still inside it's shell.

2006

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2006 was the first year that the camera was officially webcast. Two eggs were laid on the nest. The eggs were non-viable and failed to hatch.

 
The Eagles of Hornby Island as seen on Webcam.

2007

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In 2007 the camera failed to work after a thunderstorm. Doug observed the nest from his home with a spotting scope as two new eagles fledged. Because of the thunderstorm Doug named the two fledglings “Thunder” and “Lightning”

2008

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Doug Carrick's book, The Eagles of Hornby Island - My Tree-top Neighbors was published by Hancock House Publishers. The camera was repaired and the Internet webcast resumed. No eggs were laid that year and the Webcast was turned off in June.

2009

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The world watched once more as Mom and Dad Hornby produced two eggs. Around 6 weeks later the first eaglet hatched and the second eaglet hatched a three days later. The first eaglet hatched on April 27. Doug named her “Hope," to represent past events on the nest and to reflect peoples' feelings about the nest and the eagles. Three days later "Echo" arrived. The live Webcast unfortunately failed at the crucial moment when Echo hatched, leaving viewers on tenterhooks and disappointed. Fortunately, Doug was taping the event on his computer. Eleven days after the hatching, thousands watched in horror as Echo became entangled in the mother’s feathers. The mother tried frantically to free Echo but was unable to do so. When Mom flew from the nest, Echo fell and did not survive the fall. Hope grew into a strong and feisty young eaglet and fledged on July 21, 2009.

Late in 2009, Doug announced that he would be ending his relationship with Hancock Wildlife Foundation, and that the camera would no longer be broadcast. Fans of the eagle cam were devastated and many of them pleaded with Doug to continue the broadcast. They were told that if they could make it happen independently he would agree to allow the broadcast to continue.

A group of over thirty Hornby Eagle enthusiasts formed what would later be known as “The Hornby Eagle Group.” The group consisted of people with the motivation and skills to bring the Hornby Eagles back to the Internet. A forum was started where the group members could communicate; within a few months, donations from Hornby Eagle Group members and friends enabled the group to purchase the necessary computer equipment and other hardware to get the eagle camera back online. Domain names were registered and a website www.hornbyeagles.com and public forum www.ournaturezone.com was created for the Hornby Eagles. Hornby Eagle Group made an agreement with WildEarthTV to handle the media streaming through their association with ZapliveTV. In October of 2009, a test Webcast was successfully published on ZapliveTV and by the end of the year the eagles were being viewed by thousands on WildEarthTV.

2010

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In January of 2010, the Hornby Eagle Group and WildEarthTV started the Hornby Eagles Facebook Fan Page which quickly attracted thousands of fans.

In the Spring of 2010, two eggs were laid on the nest. The first was laid on March 20th and the second on March 24th. One egg hatched on April 29th and the second failed to hatch. Because the Webcast had been resurrected Doug named the eaglet “Phoenix” after the mythical bird which rose from the ashes. Sadly, on Wednesday, July 24th, 2010, Phoenix died at 76 days of age after rapid onset of acute bilateral mycotic pneumonia which a subsequent necropsy determined to have been the result of a respiratory infection caused by Aspergillus fungi. The British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS), climber Dan Hamilton, Wildlife Rescue helicopter pilot Norm Snihur and the British Columbia Animal Health Laboratory are credited with the removal and examination of Phoenix.

In late September of 2010, upgrades were done to webcasting equipment at Doug’s home which would allow a third camera to be added to the system and would also allow the cameras to be remotely switched. The new camera had infra-red capability which would allow viewers to watch the eagles at night. Coaxial cable was run from Doug’s house to the tree, the camera was tested, and a mounting apparatus was constructed by Doug. Tree climbers scaled the tree to clean the existing camera lenses and to install the new camera but because the fragile tree-top was rotted at the top, the tree climber was unable to find a suitable location to safely mount the camera.

Through the end of 2010, HEG was an informal group, with no specific legal status in any country. In December 2010, the Hornby Eagle Group Projects Society was registered as a not-for-profit society with the Provincial government of British Columbia.

2011

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On March 22nd, 2011, an egg was laid. Four days later, on March 28th, a second egg was laid. The first egg hatched on April 28th. On May 1st, at approximately 3:51 PM, the second egg hatched. The first eaglet was named “Alexandra” in honor of Alexandra Bryant Hubbard Morton, a Canadian American marine biologist best known for her 30-year study of wild killer whales and for her efforts to save the wild salmon runs in British Columbia. The second eaglet was named “David” in honor of David Takayoshi Suzuki, Japanese Canadian academic, science broadcaster, environmental activist and educator. The following is an excerpt which was composed by Doug Carrick and published in the “Our Nature Zone” forums regarding the naming of the eaglets:

“In a time when the ultimate goal for many is the accumulation of wealth and the success of a nation is judged by its Gross Domestic Product, Alexandra Morton and David Suzuki have dedicated their lives to the benefit of all people.

They have directed their energy in a course for mankind which allows for the continued evolution of life for thousands of years to come, and to who knows what heights. Better than the blind market-place striving that will degrade life back to some primitive levels. We must seriously understand what our behavior does to the environment we live in.

It is hoped that the naming of our chicks “Alexandra” and “David” will encourage us to think about what is really important in life.”

As of May, 2011, Mom and Dad Hornby are thought to be 28 years of age. Although eagles have lived for up to 50 years in captivity, 30 years is considered by many to be the age limit in the wild.

The Hornby Eagles have fledged 18 eaglets to date, and their many fans will watch eagerly in hopes that they will survive and continue to produce offspring.

Summary

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There are now many eagle cams being Webcast on the Internet, but the first was Doug Carrick’s Hornby Island Eagles, and long-time fans and new fans alike continue to follow them. Doug Carrick's eagle cam has not only provided entertainment, but has also provided environmental awareness and important scientific data.

“When an eagle enters your life, it’s hard to ignore.” - Doug Carrick

References

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Category:Eagles Category:Birds of Canada Category:Internet

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