Decorah Bald Eagles

[4] Filmed in real time, the parents can be seen delivering a variety of freshly caught prey, feeding the eaglets, and protecting them from predators and harsh weather.

[8] Ustream began hosting the video feed in 2011, although the live-cam was initiated in 2007, and was used to provide footage for the PBS Nature documentary "American Eagle'" released in 2008.

[12] The live webcam was set up in 2007 by the Raptor Resource Project (RRP),[13] Xcel Energy and Dairyland Power,[14] and was upgraded to live-streaming by Ustream in 2011.

While the human emotion that may be attached to the eaglets is understandable, an alpha-numeric system for referencing them may help us distance ourselves to observe the wonder of wildlife and nature at work".

The adult plumage (white feathers covering head, neck and tail) develops when bald eagles are sexually mature, between 4 and 5 years of age.

The species is placed in the genus Haliaeetus (sea eagles) which gets both its common and scientific names from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head.

[17] The Decorah Mom was younger than Dad, and is easily differentiated by her "eyeshadow" and darker feathers interspersed with the white ones on her head and tail.

The Raptor Resource Project waited until the 2013 clutch was "on the wing" before installing live-streaming cameras above the new nest, so there was no filming of the 2013 season.

Anderson explained the purpose of the program: After the birds had been on the wing for a few weeks, RRP worked with an experienced eagle biologist to trap and fit them with a transmitter.

The transmitter is very lightweight, and because the eagles had been on wing for a few weeks, their flight muscles were fully developed, so the harness was able to be fitted properly.

A satellite in a polar orbit 'pings' the transmitter several times a day, providing RRP with a latitude/longitude coordinate set that gives researchers the eagle's location within a few hundred feet.

She was expected to follow the Mississippi River and stay near Iowa or Illinois, but instead went on a 1,000 mile trek to northern Wisconsin and Minnesota before returning to her natal area in January 2012.

After her trip back to Decorah, D1 headed for Polar Bear Provincial Park, some 1,000 miles north of Iowa near the Arctic, on the shores of Hudson Bay in Ontario, Canada.

[34] A third eaglet, D18, from the 2014 clutch, met a similar fate on July 8, 2014 when it attempted to land on a high voltage transmission wire near Decorah and was electrocuted.

[38] Fans with binoculars are even flocking to the Decorah Fish Hatchery to watch from a respectful distance as the attentive parents care for their babies.

Wired referred to the eagle cam as 2011's "runaway Internet sensation" and noted that they had created their own "online community of eaglophiles".

[42][43] According to Forbes, "this no-frills nature video has drawn crazy traffic of the sort that would make Justin Beiber [sic] and Beyonce jealous".

[47][48] After Raptor Resource Project leaders notified the power company, crews showed up to address the safety concerns by installing a temporary insulation shield on the poles in the area.

Bob and a good friend picked her carcass up on Thursday after the Eagle Valley team notified us that they received a mortality ping.