Hi Eagle friends and Cam fans!
I have started about 4 of these blogs since the last one I posted and never managed to get any of them up due to work and other untimely distractions. I do apologize for that and will try to update you on what has been happening on the nest and on the Net.
Nest news- not much to tell there. Harmony and Peace seem to be off on their adventures and Mom at least is still hanging around to keep an eye on the old homestead. She was spotted on the nest on Labor Day weekend and has been heard in the neighborhood several times since. On the Tuesday after Labor Day several chatters (bdog, dibberdobs, jutebox judy, pckrbckr, and mnbutterflygirl) along with our own MNKarenAnn took a roadtrip to the nest area and had a great time. This was the bookend to the trip they made to The National Eagle Center in Wabasha in August. They spotted one adult near the nest that flew off away from them and saw what looked to be our juvies circling high above. Unfortunately no close-up shots were able to be taken. They did go into the nearby town and saw some more juvies there. They tell me that a great time was had by all. They even brought cheetos just in case. The pics from both trips are posted on the MN Bound Chatters Facebook page.
The cam server spent most of the last month going to the fair. It started out at the local county fair for a week and then moved to the Minnesota State Fair where it broadcast the doin’s in the 4H barn at both fairs. I saw a few of those and found them interesting as I have not been to the fair in more years than I care to count. We hope to have the cam back up for the Chat on Saturday but I ain’t makin’ no promises. Hope you can join us in the chat on Saturday from 1-5pm CDT.
During the Saturday chat on the 17th of August we were made aware of a cam that was watching an ostrich egg about to hatch. Naturally being bird cam geeks one and all we went to check it out. The egg had pipped and you could hear the chick peeping inside the egg. Things were pretty calm during the day on Saturday in the chat and the SS but come evening time the site was posted to several sites where some of the more unsavory elements of the Net reside. These, for lack of a better word, trolls then proceeded to take over the chat and SS and chaos ensued. As Dash, the owner of the cam, had not anticipated the site going viral or even being popular he had not asked anyone to mod for him. The trolls came from all over and there was no let up to the chaos until Sunday morning when some of the mods from here and many of the other nest cams finally convinced Dash that he needed moderation on the cam to restore order. Our own Bekka and Eaglessoarfree were among the first to draw their BanHammers and start to clean up the chat and SS. In a remarkable show of cooperation and comradeship mods from over a dozen nests came running when they heard the call for help and after several hours of continuous pounding order was mostly restored. I arrived rather late in the game as I sleep on the west coast but there were enough miscreants still around that I was kept busy most of Sunday. In the midst of the chaos a beautiful new ostrich chick was hatched with help from Dash and Dash’s daughter named it Pipsqueak. Everyone took to calling it Pip and that’s the name that stuck. Late Sunday evening I was the last “Blue Meanie”, as the trolls called us, left in the chat and Dash contacted me to give him some help and pointers on running with moderators. I was glad to help him get on track and to make a long story shorter most of the mods from here, a few from here before the transition and several from other cams are now modding at the ostrich site.
Unfortunately poor Pip only survived a week after hatching. She succumbed to an infection and malabsorbtion of the yolk sac. Not to be deterred Dash went to an ostrich farm on Labor Day weekend and acquired 3 more eggs to incubate and hatch. They have been in the incubator for 12 days now and are expected to hatch around the 12th of October. So if you are looking to chat with us and a lot of your friends from the MNB nest please drop in at the Ostrich Egg Cam and set a spell.
Some pics of Mom on the nest on Labor Day weekend.
Where is that man?? The nest needs mowing!!
Finally! Peace and quiet.
Who are those weirdos out on the road? And why are they waving orange bags at me??
So is this our 15 minutes of fame??
The nest area circa. 1950. Notice the lack of pond that didn't come into being until the late 90's.
We might have cam tomorrow?? YAY!
Well, this has gotten long and it’s late so I will end it here and say adios until the next time!
Have a great day and may all your hatchlings fledge!
TalonStrike
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them below or in the chat room. Also, we'll be updating our official MN Bound LIVE Eagles Facebook Page regularly so you can follow along, like, or share with your friends. We have several site moderators this year to help give optimal information to all that want to learn more about these magnificent birds.