We were hoping to start the fund drive to raise money for repairing, replacing and generally updating the cams and related equipment back in May - but as often happens, life got in the way.

We now have about a month before the eagles begin to head north in search of salmon - and are hoping to raise awareness - and money to help with that process.

We'll be posting about David's plans for next season - and the costs involved - at various places throughout the forum over the next month. This thread is intended to be a summary of those posts.

Also - 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).

Thanks!

Reserved

Win the Chance of a Lifetime
While Supporting Next Year's Eagle Cam Program

Thanks to David Hancock, everyone who donates to Hancock Wildlife Foundation between May 1 and July 31, 2012, will not only help make it possible for us to do the maintenance and upgrades needed so we can have better - and more - cams streaming in 2013, but will also have a chance to win one of four great prizes!

In early August, we'll be drawing four names. The first person whose name is drawn will get their choice of the following prizes, and each of the next three people drawn will get their choice of the prizes that remain. There is only one boat trip, but duplicates of the other prizes are possible, so all four winners will have their choice of at least three prizes.



Prize #1 - 2 tickets on a Fraser River Safari Tour of Harrison River with David Hancock as guide. The FRS Tour up the Harrison - Chehalis Rivers is by far the best way to view the wintering eagles. Most of us feel lucky when we see an eagle - and it's quite common to see thousands of eagles gathered here during the 60-90 minute tour, and David once counted 7,362 eagles from the boat in a two-kilometer section of the river! The most popular tours are those that have David along as a guest speaker - and one lucky person and a friend will have a chance to be there and view what just might be the largest gathering of birds of prey in the world!



Prize #2 - a 4-hour tour of eagle nests in the lower mainland of British Columbia with David Hancock.

You may not see these particular nests - but there are something like 380 eagle nests in the lower Fraser Valley area, so I think I can safely guarantee that you'll see a whole lot of eagles, and learn a whole lot about them - and I know you'll have a wonderful time! December through July is the best time for seeing lots and lots of eagles, but with David's knowledge of the area, there will be plenty to see whenever you're able to come for your tour.

Or - David is prepared to substitute a 4-hour personal tour of the Boundary Bay - Surrey nests and feeding areas. That tour can be any time David is available except between July 15 and October 1.



Prize #3 - a signed print of one of David Hancock's images. David is not only a noted biologist, conservationist, writer and publisher - he's also an excellent photographer! I don't know if David will have a photograph in the 2013 Hancock Wildlife Calendar - but I do love his picture of the bold eaglet on the cover of the 2012 calendar - and know the picture he chooses for this prize will be great!

But there's more! As you may know, Christian Sasse is another superb photographer who has taken many fantastic images of the eagles along Boundary Bay, including the White Rock eagles featured on our web cams. And the winner who chooses prize #3 will also receive their choice of one of Christian's beautiful prints:

Click "Contemplation" (above) to see larger versions of the four prints available.





Prize #4 - a tote bag and two travel mugs from our Cafe Press Store. The bag is perfect for toting binoculars and cameras as you go out in search of eagles - and knowing that early morning is the best time to see some wildlife, perhaps a cup of tea or coffee would be useful as well!

One mug features a picture of Charlie and Delta, the 2011 chicks from White Rock, being fed just a few days after they hatched. Looking at those tiny balls of fluff, it's hard to believe that they'll be as big as their parents - and flying - in about twelve weeks! The other mug features Flyer, the oldest chick from the 2011 Sidney nest, showing just how big and beautiful fledgling eagles are as they head out into the world.


More Ways to Win:

Everyone who donates to Hancock Wildlife Foundation between May 1 and July 31, 2012, gets one ticket entered into the drawing for these fabulous prizes; those who donate $100 or more get an additional ticket for each $100 donated, up to $1000; above $1000, an additional ticket is added for each additional $1000. All donations made during that time period will be combined, so if you gave $25 in May, another $25 in June and $50 in July, you would get an additional chance to win because your donations totaled $100.

No Need to Wait:

You'll be seeing some posts over the next few weeks highlighting some of the special projects and ongoing expenses that will be possible because of your support - but you don't have to wait for them in order to donate. All you need to do is click the button below to see the five easy ways you can donate to Hancock Wildlife Foundation - and perhaps win one of these great prizes. Thank you.

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.

Evening Friends

2012 Fundraising Drive & Update as July 10 - 2012

Many of you are aware that Hancock Wildlife Foundation (HWF) is currently conducting their 2012 Fundraising Drive and I have offered to lend a hand and update everyone on our Fundraising efforts thus far ... where we are now and how far we have to go yet.

First and foremost on behalf of David Hancock and the entire Hancock Wildlife Foundation family it is my pleasure to extend our warmest thanks to each and everyone of you for your continued support .... your contributions in time and in donations keep this forum family thriving and without your support we would surely have to close its doors.

The forum and the cams provides all of us with a unique opportunity to share in the wonder of wildlife and to visit with our friends both feathered and human :-) here on the forum. So thanks again for all that you do to support Hancock Wildlife Foundation you truely are the heart and soul of our HWF community.

There are some amazing things planned for 2012 and if you have not yet seen the Needs List yet here is the link to the list:

forum/viewtopic.php?topic=356429#356429

As you can see HWF really needs $100,000 to make all those dreams realities!

Currently we have raised about $11,000 that means we still have a shortfall of $89,000 for 2012

The funds raised to-date includes all donations received between November 2011 to June 2012 so you can see although we have made some pretty good progress we still need to raise $89,000 to achieve our fundraising goal for this year.

I am not sure if you are aware of this ...but HWF is a not for profit organization; they do not receive any grants or government funding they rely purely on donations to keep the forum and cams streaming so your support is truely needed.

There are efforts underway to secure some corporate sponsors to help us meet our financial targets but it's a work in progress. If you have any corporate contacts that you believe would be willing to donate or sponsor HWF please contact me or anyone of our volunteers and we will certainly ensure that your tip or referral is followed up on. Please include all contact information to facilitate that process.

The birds will soon be leaving their nesting areas providing David with a very short window of opportunity to visit each site and perform cam maintenance and do any upgrades and/or installations, which must be completed before the birds return. So if you have not yet made your donation or if you can donate a bit more please consider making it asap so that the equipment can be ordered and delivered to meet this short timeline.

To make your donation click on the link below

staticpages/index.php/HowToDonateToHWF_Fast

Thank you to those of you that have donated already. To those of you that cannot afford to make a donation right now we thank you for your continued support.

Together we make a difference and as a team we create magic and keep our HWF family united

In closing on behalf of our forum family I would also like to extend our warmest thanks to David Hancock for his dream brought us all together and David is responsible for keeping us connected and for educating so many ... warmest thanks David from all of us here...you are the best.

As donations come in we will keep you updated so that we can celebrate our progress together as a family!

Now lets create some magic together ...... Lets Go Team Lets Go



PS Sorry for being long winded...next update will be shorter I promise!

The Number 2

I've been thinking about the number two this morning, and realize that it is an important number for Hancock Wildlife Foundation for a number of reasons. Take, for instance, our Delta 2 nest - where the eaglet we named Linux fledged not once - but twice! Or consider our nest at White Rock, where the two eaglets hatched two days apart, and fledged within two days of each other. And you might not immediately see a connection at Lafarge - but one of the three eaglets (we think Sky, the oldest one) has fledged - which means that the other two, Starlet and Sorrior, have not! Two again. And anyone who donates in support of our cams this month has a chance to win a thank you gift from David Hancock and Hancock Wildlife - and one of the gifts is an eagle-watching trip for two with David Hancock (details).

But there are two main reasons that I'm thinking about the number two. The first is that some long-time members and supporters have offered to match up to $1500 in donations made between now and midnight tomorrow (July 19). So donations made in the next 36 hours will be doubled!

And the second is that it will cost $22,000 for the annual clean-up and upgrades for the equipment at our three active nests, Delta 2, Lafarge and White Rock.



David has some great plans for the nests:

Would you like to know what Linux is saying? We'll have sound next year at Delta 2 - the site is scheduled to be upgraded with two full HD cams, at least one of which be pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ), two microphones and night vision!

Would you like to know who is hiding behind the tree at Lafarge? The site will be redone, again with HD coverage and a second cam looking down on the nest and hopefully with a directional microphone that will let us hear activity in the nest and not hear the people working nearby.

And would you like to know where Echo and Foxy will go next? We hope to upgrade the White Rock site to a full PTZ – HD cam. This will make this awesome site totally incredible!

I heard from Karen Bills, Project Coordinator for Hancock Wildlife Foundation, this morning - and we've received $1,498 so far in July, from 30 wonderful people! Added to the $2,650 we received for May and June, and we've raised about $4,148 towards the annual clean-up and upgrades for the cameras - which is about 1/5, or 20%, of what we need. Thanks to this generous matching grant - we could triple our donations for July in the next two days.

Click here for Five Easy Ways to Donate!

I do have a favor to ask - this is a very busy time of year for the folks at Hancock House, and they've said that today is the best day to call - so if you'd like to make your donation by phone, and can do so today, that would be great! We do have a number of other ways to donate - and you don't need to have an account with PayPal or CanadaHelps to make a donation online.

It is worth mentioning that we will still need some additional major donations even if our two-day drive is a rousing success. If you know a person or a business who might sponsor a cam, please get in touch with Karen Bills karen@hancockwildlife.org And we do have a number of other ways in which people can support HWF.

On behalf of Hancock Wildlife, and our Forum Support Team,
Thank you all, for all you do!

Breaking News

Today is the second day of our 2-day matching drive - and I am excited to announce that thanks to another generous supporter, donations up to $2,500 will be matched!

And the first day of our "The Number 2" matching drive was a great success - we didn't actually get started until a bit after noon - and we raised $1130 yesterday - which, when matched, will be $2260!

We have a full day today - and a new goal - if we can get $1370 in additional donations today, we'll match the full $2500 - which means $5000 for Hancock Wildlife! So if you've been thinking of donating, today's the day!


And those who make donations made today - like all donations during the May-June-July Campaign for the Cams - will have a chance to win one of four great thank-you gifts from David Hancock and Hancock Wildlife Foundation, including a Fraser River Safari tour as David's guest, a four-hour tour of eagle nests in the lower mainland or Boundary Bay areas, eagle prints by David and Christian Sasse, and a package of CafePress items - click the button below for more details, and pictures of the prizes (the new Linux-design travel mugs can be substituted for those shown).


A big thanks to those of you who have donated and started us off in such a rousing fashion - and a very big thanks to the supporters whose pledges make the matching campaign possible!

We have great plans for next year - pan-tilt-zoom cams at all of the nests like we now have at Delta 2, sound at all of the nests like we have at White Rock now, and night vision, like we have at Lafarge and White Rock - and with your help, we're going to make it happen!

Reminder....

There's still time to make a donation during our matching drive - and it's a win - win - win proposition!

All of us who watch the cams win - there are upgrades planned for all three active nests - and new nests, cams to watch the eagles at the salmon run, an upgraded fish cam and more on David's wish list.

(clicks much bigger - aren't they handsome!)


Four lucky donors win - we'll be drawing four names from all those who donated in May, June and July and offering them their choice of several thank-you gifts - such as a tour of the eagle nests in the lower mainland:

(clicks a bit bigger - link for details)


And Hancock Wildlife wins - there is so much we'd love to do to advance our goals of education, research and conservation - and it's not cheap. Several people who believe in the work of Hancock Wildlife Foundation have pledged to match up to $2500 in donations - and that is huge!

Thank you to all who have already donated - waking up this morning to learn that we'd already raised over $1100 dollars in one day - and that up to $2500 in donations would be matched - has kept me smiling all day.

And we do know that financial donations aren't the best way for everyone to contribute - so I'd like to take a moment here to also thank those who help out on the forum and website, and those who watch the cams and report and take s'caps and make videos - and make this the educational resource it was meant to be, and those who keep things running smoothly on facebook and the various chat threads and all sorts of places that I'm only now learning about, and our content providers who add a whole 'nother level to the data on our forum by reporting on an amazing variety of wildlife. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. And thank you all on behalf of Hancock Wildlife Foundation - it's you who make this such a marvelous resource.

Again - thank you. And if you can donate today - please do. Linux, Echo, Foxy, Sky, Starlet and Sorrior - and all those who watch them - thank you.



(Credits: thanks to AnniesKatz, cococat9, Raining22, byline, gemini and many BC content providers, sunshinecoast, and eaglet999 who contributed to the graphics in this post.)