By Nic Hoffman
Copy Editor

A recent increase in the use of live streams, live transmission of an event online, has allowed people to see new spectacular things in real time. A huge spark of interest first occurred about one year ago, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration set up a live stream from the International Space Station, allowing the ability to tune in at any time to see the earth from space. The NASA cam is still up and running, but a new convocation of live streams has taken flight from under wing of the space craze: the Bald Eagle camera movement.

America’s national bird has gone through a sharp dive in its population but is now off the ground again. At the time it was chosen to represent the fledgling nation, there were roughly one hundred thousand Bald Eagles roaming the skies. Habitat degradation, hunting, and the human strain on their food supply led to their decline until the early 1900s, but in the first half of the twentieth century we went even further, killing off the eagles without knowing how or why it was happening.

The use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and similar chemical pesticides was hailed as a beautiful advancement of scientific progress and the cure to all insect annoyances. Consequently, the Bald Eagle started declining in population, d ropping to its lowest of 487 nesting pairs in 1963.

Rachel Carson authored Silent Spring in 1962, pointing out what was happening with DDT and its killing off of the broods of the eagles. To summarize, the chemical would be sprayed on or near waterways, enter the food chain on a low level, and biomagnifiy up the food chain until it was in high concentration in the adult eagle. When time came to lay eggs, the egg shells then had DDT in them instead of strengthening calcium. When the eagles sat on the eggs to incubate, the eggs broke, killing the young. The surviving offspring were usually sterile.

The road to recovery took legislative action but has been largely successful. Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the eagle has been removed from protection by the Endangered Species Act. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List now places the Bald Eagle as “Least Concern.” The wild population is estimated to be roughly 10,000 nesting pairs. This is a booming success after the terrible dearth of 1963, but is still only one fifth of the original population.

The recent trend of eagle cameras across the country has furthered the American compassion for the bird. From Florida to Maine, cameras have sprung up, displaying the birds nesting. Egg laying, incubation, hatching, and hunting are all visible on a myriad of cameras, each with the ability to tune in at any moment. Conservationists are hopeful about the benefits of these webcams and of the vested interest they create in people. Here in Pennsylvania we have the benefit of one of the best cameras.

The Pennsylvania Game Commision has, on their website, a high-definition camera displaying a nesting pair in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The camera was installed in December and the stream aired to the public on January 14. The first egg appeared Feb. 14, the second appeared Feb. 17. They hatched on March 24 and 25, respectively.

An interest in our national bird is always welcome by Americans and environmentalists alike. The cameras are a great way to see a less than common bird at any given time, and a unique view into the nest of our own freedom flier.