I just want to share this with all of you, as a reminder that no matter how this has ended, things were the best they have ever been for this cam and the people who got to live a bit of an eagles life
For many of us who have watched this nest since its first public airing on the internet, the shutting down of these cams is an end of an era. Although we hope to have reports we will not see events unfold.
This is a short chronology of the Hornby Island eagle nest cam
2006 - 3 months streaming cam with Hancock Wildlife Foundation. Cam first aired approx. MARCH 24th when second egg was laid,
Cam was shut down May 5, 2006; taken off air after eggs
decomposed in early MAY.
2007 - No streaming due to cams being damaged in winter storms.
two eaglets successfully fledged that year
2008 - 4 months streaming cam with Hancock Wildlife Foundation from MARCH until JUNE, when it became clear that there would be no eggs laid that year. At this time, Mr. Carrick said he was shutting the cams down and would not likely turn them on again due to personal considerations.
2009 - 7 months streaming cam with Hancock Wildlife Foundation, starting in FEBRUARY; until AUGUST Hope and Echo hatched, Hope went on to fledge successfully.
At the end of the fledge season, the Carricks made the decision to discontinue streaming the cam, due to personal considerations
2009-2011 - 22 months streaming cam with Hornby Eagle Group Projects Society (HEGPS) from NOVEMBER 2009 until AUGUST 2011. The 2009/2010 season was the first fall and winter season ever streamed with the Hornby Island eagle pair. That is nearly 2 years of continuous streaming with HEGPS, showing year-round activities in the life of these eagles.
At the end of the 2011 season, the Carricks again made the decision to discontinue streaming the cam, due to personal considerations
On a personal note, this is not the first, nor even the second time, the decision to stop the cams has been made, and created a sadness for me at the loss of sharing the eagles lives.
The repeated loss , though, also reminds me that even with no cam, the eagles will continue in their own time and live their own lives , as intended by their nature.
And so shall I
I have come to admire the eagles and their capacity to be a family,to show their care and affections for each other. I am in awe of their power and yet know they are as subject to their environment as we all are, and that they have no daily guarantee of survival.
I have also come to appreciate people who strive to improve their own part of the world for their animal neighbours and thus improve their own personal spaces.
Eagles of Hornby, have fair winds and good fishing,
Eagles of Hornby, stay free, stay strong,
Eagles of Hornby , fair thee well
Don't cry because it's over . Smile because it happened.
~Theodor Seuss Geisel, attributed~
