hi raining, planet, newbie, liberty, jkr and anyone else who is reading this..Wow !! what a difference a day makes.. there you go raining another one for your songbook devoted to linux- glad I brought my computer with me.. starting to think raining is going to be the winner of the sweepstakes. Makes me a little though.
Did you read Irisheagles post from last night? - what lovely sentiments and thoroughly agree! Yay delta 2 aunties

It's That Time Again

Back a couple of months ago, David let us know what he was hoping to do in the next year - and what it would cost (click here for complete details)

We all know that there can't be any work on the cams until the eaglets fledge and head north in search of salmon - and this is what Echo and Foxtrot, the White Rock chicks, looked like a couple of months ago, on May 1st (courtesy of AnniesKatz):



Looking at those little balls of fluff with beaks, it was hard to believe that they would be able to fly in a matter of weeks.

However....

It's now July 1st - just two months later - and look at them now (courtesy of cococat9):



Another month or month and a half - and the eagles will be heading north, and it will be time for our team to be heading into the nests to get everything ready for next season (2011 s'cap courtesy of Lonette):



We're hoping to feature four nests next year, each with two cams - White Rock, Delta 2, Lafarge and a new nest for us, in Harrison, which is in the same general area as the Chehalis tower cams and the underwater cams. Many of our current cams will be replaced and upgraded - David wants to see a pan-tilt-zoom (ptz) cam at each nest - and all the supporting equipment (wiring, microphones, infrared lighting for night vision, computers, encoders, etc.) needs to be checked and repaired/replaced if it's not working as it should.

This will not be cheap - the labor alone is likely to be more than $15,000 for these four sites.

I'm guessing that most of us don't have that sort of money lying around (if you do - please feel free to make a large donation; I'll probably give more than I can really afford, but unless I strike oil while digging in the flower garden, I can't exactly afford to pick up the costs for a complete overhaul/upgrade on even one cam). But some of us may know people who could afford to help - or may have contacts who can make recommendations for corporate or philanthropic donations.

We are all learning a lot about eagles in general - and about the stresses on eagle families in BC - thanks to these cams. With better cams, we'll learn more. It's amazing to see the little feathers begin to grow on the chicks when they're just tiny black dots - I'd love to see what they look like up close - and we could do that with a good pan-tilt-zoom cam.

If you know someone or some company or organization who might be willing to be a major supporter for one of our cams, or if you or someone you know would be willing to help with our fundraising efforts - please let me know so I can pass the information on to David Hancock and Karen Bills (or contact them directly).

And please give what you can, and a little bit more - just click on sunshinecoast's picture of the White Rock chicks below for five easy ways to donate to the Hancock Wildlife Foundation.



Thank you.