Millions are enraptured by birth of Iowa raptors

By The Des Moines Register

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About 1.2 million people watch wildlife in Iowa each year. Thanks to a pair of eagles in Decorah, that number has soared in recent weeks. The Raptor Resource Project set up a camera pointed at their enormous nest. (Eagles' nests are among the largest in the avian realm, with room for the parents, eaglets and dead animals to feed on). Video live streamed online has attracted more than 11 million visitors to the project's website.

People can watch every minute of the day and night - and they are.

The lure of it isn't just having a patriotic bird's eye view of our national treasure. It isn't only the sense that you're perched on a branch next to them, feeling a little thrill when an eaglet escapes a shell or swallows a piece of rabbit.

It seems the attraction may well be the simplicity of what the eagles are doing: engaging in the most basic business of maintaining their species. Bald eagles are believed to mate for life. This pair's only concern is vigilantly keeping an eye out while protecting, warming and feeding their offspring.

In a world that is so hectic, these Iowa eagles are a reminder of the most fundamental aspects of any species. And this scene, witnessed by millions in real time, is a reminder to all of us busy people that nature moves at its own pace.

The eagles don't care if viewers want the eggs to hurry up and hatch or see Mom and Dad trade off the chore of tending to the eggs. The birds aren't rushing the process for anyone.

Watching allows us to slow down with them for a few minutes and to become a part of the experience. We feel like they belong to us. We talk to coworkers about what we've witnessed - from the hatching to the feeding to the cars running on the road in the background to other birds on nearby branches.

Viewers all over the world recently watched from the shelter of their homes as high winds ruffled the eagles' feathers. The gusts nearly drowned out the sounds of chirping. One fuzzy, hungry eaglet swayed as it stretched skyward, mouth open for more food. (No, they don't have white heads like their parents. Eagles don't develop those until they're at least 5 or 6 years old).

People are putting posts on their Facebook pages: Did you see the baby eat? Teachers are tuning in with classrooms of kids. Workers in offices have a web page open in the corner of the screen to keep an eye on the birds.

And the really exciting milestones are still to come, as the eaglets (we can all hope) grow stronger and bigger and eventually leave the nest.

Eagles have been laying eggs for a long time. The family in the nest in Decorah isn't doing anything different than other eagles have done for eons. The difference is they have an audience. A large and mesmerized audience - with a new appreciation for our once endangered national symbol.