Saturday, June 16, 2007

Back from the field

Greetings all! Home after long week in the field—up at 3:30 each morning, mapping the location of every singing male bird on remote islands. Quite a week actually, battling strong northeast winds that were so cold that I had on all of my winter outdoor gear.

I got word via cell phone that the osprey and eagle cams were down. We were able to resolve the problems on both cams, momentarily. Unfortunately, the osprey cam is down again and I am locked out of the computer. We have restarted the computer a couple of times, but it keeps shutting down. My fear is that the computer has been compromised from the earlier attack from the hacker or virus and may be down for the season.

I am heading back out into the field tomorrow and will be away from computers for another week. I am afraid that I will need to erase the hard drive of computer, reload all the software and start over—something that takes about a day or two. My challenge at this point is finding that day.

June is the month around which the rest of our year revolves because most of the birds in the northeast are nesting and raising young. At this moment I am overseeing six projects, four of which need to be completed in the next two weeks.

Come July, I will have a spare couple of days that, hopefully, I can put towards fixing this computer.

I hope you are all having a great summer and I will keep you updated on how all is progressing.

Wing Goodale, BioDiversity Research Institute

50 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I worry that the loon pair is not going to nest this year, how sadden I am to be thinking this way. We have learned so much about nature, but sure was hoping to watch some either baby eagles or loons this summer. I fear my dream will not come true this year. Maybe next year. What does everyone else think?? I'd like to read other peoples thoughts on this. Loon fan in Palermo

1:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry to here abot the osprey cam. thats sad
An eagle landed today June 16 at 8:21 pm an stayed less than a minute..Here is the video I capture. Copy and paste it.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO_-IlVgnhU


Sir Lance

9:14 PM  
Blogger jeanette said...

Thanks clc for the eagle video. It was great to see one again!

11:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks Sir Lance for the video. Looked like Mom maybe. Just glad to see her again.

12:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

06/17 @ 17:10

Ouch! I thought the eagle still was finally loading as the Java display stayed a while .. but the screen turned blue (instead of white). To add insult to injury, the video cam is not working either.

Thankfully, the loon cam is running with both the still and video. However, I have not been lucky enough to catch a loon.

To think that hackers have attacked these cams and computers is frustrating (to say the least!). I cannot imagine how Wing and the rest of the BRI staff must feel.

In the meantime, we armchair biologists are left to "wing" it without our leader and without video.

JAM in IL

5:16 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Sunday, Father's Day, 6/17 7:01 PM

Hello Fellow Bloggers and Happy Father's Day to all of our Dad's out there!

I see that fellow eagle addict Sir Lance posted a link to his video of Dad on the Eagle Cam last evening. Thank you Sir Lance and Happy Father's Day!

We are especially appreciative for your capturing Dad due to the Eagle Cam going down again today. This time it is down in WMP via the BRI site and in RP via the National Geographic site. I am hopeful that Wing and the BRI staff can figure out the problem shortly.

"Loon Fan in Palermo", I think it is hard to predict whether the loon will nest this year. I believe they still have time ... we'll have to wait and see. They sometimes take a "year off" from raising young ... this might be that year. For the time being the resident spider on the loon cam lens has turned it into a "Spider Cam"!

Take care all! Hopefully tomorrow we will have a BRI Eagle Cam!

Chris
Grand Island, NY

7:02 PM  
Blogger movin said...

Wing, sorry to hear about the computer problems...too bad you don't have an assistant, who can help out with that.

I advise formatting the hard disk and reloading at least Windows ASAP, because if the drivers for the hard disk have been damaged or destroyed, you will need to replace the hard drive before proceeding. You need to know if formatting is going to fix the problem early in the process, and that basic step doesn't take nearly a day to do.

I've been lucky with my machine, but my sister's hard drive was destroyed by a virus or some such invasive software last year. No telling what hackers might have done in this case.

Good luck with the fix,

Jim
Santa Ana, CA



11:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good to hear from you Wing - glad that your field projects are going well. While I love the cameras, doing the research in the field is the more important work that you do & I look forward to your weekly updates. A big heartfelt "Thank you" for all the time & effort you put in to keeping us "armchair biologists" in the loop! Good luck on your projects & Happy Learning!

Dawn - Upstate NY

7:02 AM  
Blogger jeanette said...

The eagle cam isn't working. Now the box is blue on the still picture and I get a notice that I can't connect to the device when I try to connect to the live site.

9:22 AM  
Blogger Maura said...

Perhaps the loons merely nested in a different spot. After all, both chicks were snapped up pretty quickly last year and maybe they thought a different nest location was the best defense.

If you want to see some nests with chicks/eggs, go to the Birdcam page at beakspeak.com and you'll find a long list of nests with chicks or eggs.

Thanks to BRI for all their hard work!

10:28 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Tuesday, 6/19

We're going into the second day with the Eagle Cam being down in WMP and RP.

There are so many loyal armchair biologists out here, patiently waiting for BRI's reply and/or restoration of the cam. Hopefully, that will come soon. We are praying for good news.

Chris
Grand Island, NY

10:36 AM  
Blogger gigi 1 said...

yaaa! Cam. and still shot working haven't seen or heard the eagles yet, but I'm very patient.6/19 12:50pm DST

12:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1:35 pm Tues 6/19

So glad to have the eagle cam back up and running, it was very frustrating when it was down but we understand that Wing has certainly got his hands full this summer. As soon as it came back on the eagles were heard, thank goodness they are still around once in a while.

Thanks BRI for all that you do to keep us addicts happy. All three of your cams are great.

We wish the loons would hurry up and decide to lay a couple of eggs. I am tired of only seeing "Charlotte" and no loon.

Thanks for everything.

Loon and Eagle Lover

1:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tues.June 19
So sorry about all the computer cam troubles. What kind of meanie would do a thing like that?
Well, right now the eagle cam is up and the nest looks beautiful. There's a breeze and the water is bright blue. I have no idea what the temp. is in Maine but probably not much different than what we have today here in NH. High 80's! So beautiful. I love it. Not too humid.
Wing...sounds like you are getting a lot of work done. It sounds so exciting. I try to picture you out there fighting the elements trying to get samples and tag birds, etc, etc. Thanks for sharing with us. I still have faith that we'll see some action on the cams this summer so I'll keep logging in every couple days. Go BRI!
Thanks to all of you bloggers who share your thoughts and make this blog fun even when there's not much action on the cams! Chris..your enthusiasm is refreshing and makes me smile! To everyone who took video of the eagles.I can't thank you enough. Some of those clips are truly beautiful and when I get lonely for the eagles I look for them. I hope everyone's having a happy healthy and safe summer! Warmest wishes,
Maggie NH

5:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

6/19/07 Thank you for getting the eagle cam back up... I love it.. :)Chatter here and there since cam came up at 1:06..at 2:45 pm I saw a fly by and I caught a picture of it posted here.. pic

Thanks again Sir Lance..

5:43 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Tuesday Evening 6/19

Isn't it great having the Eagle Cam back? Sir Lance caught a capture of a fly-by within a couple of hours of it going back up. I'm sure he'll post a link to his capture. We've been hearing eagle chatter for most of the afternoon ... sounds like Dad ...love that guy!

We had nasty thunderstorms move through western NY ... have had power outages and even a barn fire in a neighboring community! Hope the TS's fizzle out before they hit New England!

I haven't checked in the Loon Cam since this morning. Hope some of you have good news to report on our combination Loon/Spider Cam Hahaha!

Catch you tomorrow!

Chris
Grand Island, NY

6:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tuesday, June 19th

It's 10:00 PM in Michigan and the Eagle Cam is up and running.

10:03 PM  
Blogger movin said...

6/19/2007

Miracles, perhaps....??

The eagle cam seems to working beautifully this evening.

Congratulations, Wing.


Jim
Santa Ana, CA

11:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Eagle lands for a minute at 6:09am june 20... here is a video... copy and paste it ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUVufI83Ijk

Sir Lance..

6:29 AM  
Blogger flight of fancy said...

Hello all. It's been a while since I've posted. Have tried to keep up, but the end of the school year was insane. Now I'm on vacation and will try to stay tuned.
Too bad about the osprey cam...what would make someone want to compromise this project?
You sound busy, Wing, but we all understand. Hope you do find some down time, we all need it.

8:44 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Wednesday, June 20th

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

Great day having the Eagle Cam back up! Sir Lance captured a video of Dad on the nest today at 6:09 AM. I'm sure he will post a link for it here on the blog. There have also been a couple of fly-by's and eagle chatter this morning. Mom and Dad are around the nest!

How are the loons doing? I'll be watching for your comments!

I'll check back later

Chris
Grand Island, NY

9:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

there was a bunch of gulls and crows making noise and then the eagles joined in...”And it sounded something like this”..LOL. There might have been a school of fish or a fisherman throwing unwanted catch back.. A couple fly byes and a lot of noise “Nature noise”… I made this video from around that time for those who missed the morning sounds, and fly byes. 8:00am June 20, sorry for the black space in the middle about 2.5 minutes..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJh78WU-_7w

SIR LANCE

9:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A shame we will not be able to see nature at work. Last year was so spectacular that it is a let-down. However, with all the hard work going on behind the scenes I just know nest year will be a wonderful year. I hope donations are still coming in. I will be sending another soon. I have not given up on the loons yet - although I know absolutely nothing about loons, I am hoping to learn.

Janet in Missouri

9:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quick flyby from Mr.....sounding off..

5:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think these eagles like to tease us, but in reality they are showing us they are here to stay. They continue to protect and watch the nest. They have no need for the nest now but they will in the future. They wouldn’t even fly close if they didn’t plan on needing it.. 5:09 fly by and a few calls to let it be known they are in the area and it is indeed their area. Just having a little fun with video capture and edit ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq20g0hqEOg

SIR LANCE

5:55 PM  
Blogger Tonya said...

June 20,07 8:42 pm edt.
First I would like to give Bri., a great big THANK YOU for getting the cams back up and running again. Sure do miss the cams when they are down. I know that you are in your busy season there, so I know that it can't be easy trying to keep up with it all. The extra effort Wing and all of you go through to keep us happy is just awesome. It is also greatly appreciated. :):):) I have heard the eagles tonight. I have been away from home all day and well into the evening, so I didn't get a chance to see them. I also heard a loon in the background tonight on the eagle cam. So a little bit of both in one. :):):)

8:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yesterday 6/20/07 I posted a video. It was of a fly by and a lot of eagle chatter/screeching at around 5pm.. I put a couple of stills in the middle of the eagle. Nothing was cut from the video it is continuous. I just split it in half and put the picks in it. If you listen to it closely you can hear 3 eagles. One passes in the front and you hear one real close, another farther away, and one in between. I really believe this was not just a fly by, but also a run off. What do ya all think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq20g0hqEOg
SIR LANCE

4:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lightning must of shut the cam down today.. Thats a bummer. Seeing the eagle cam was down today I went to peak at the ospreys in Long Island N.Y. The whole family was there. One was eating a fish and feeding the young so I just had to make a video why I was there. Some cool baby wing stretches too. The cam buffered in the middle but still a good video. Warning the wind can be loud at times.. The family was pretty quiet the whole time… video is over 9 minutes long.. Hope you don't mind me posting this here. Thought some might like to see The ospreys being fed..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke2EeR-EB54
SIR LANCE

8:28 PM  
Blogger gigi 1 said...

6/23 9:30 EDT Oh no the eagle cam is down again! :[ I sure miss them. Wing has been working so hard in the field, no telling when he will be able to fix the cam's this time. Oh well, happy Saturday to all.

9:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

6/23 Sat
Wow, how great to see all the blogs of the faithful as I've been away and out of touch for several days.
It is hard to find words of gratitude to Wing and BRI for all they do to bring us these wondrous nature visions. And, doubly hard to express how I feel about hackers and intruders mucking up our chance to partake in it!!!!!!!!
I'll share a cooool experience I had yesterday.......as I've mentioned we have eagles and a nest on 'our' river. BUT, I'd never been able to indentify them by noise until spending so much time on our Eagle cam. As I was perusing my garden.....I heard that telltale chatter and tore into the back yard...sure enough there was an adult and a young one soaring low over the river and then they landed in a lg. birch across the water. I was quite excited to see them, and even more excited that I recognized their cries.
Well, all, keep the faith...hope your summer is going well.. Mine is ridiculously busy, as I'm sure is yours. Anna....I'll not give up my vigil waiting for you to return.
Linnie from Fairfield

12:58 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Sunday, June 24 9:45 AM ET

We're going into the second full day with no eagle cam ... I feel your pain ....

Thank goodness Sir Lance has given us some wonderful captures/videos to watch as we wait for the cam to come back up. I know everyone is grateful for his work in providing links to his work so that we can get our "eagle fix". Thank you Sir Lance!

I am hopeful that eagle cam will be up sometime on Monday. Until then, hold strong fellow armchair biologists!

Chris
Grand Island

9:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello all you eagle fans... Hoping cam is back up today.. for those that need an eagle fix here is a link to all my maine eagle videos and some of the NY Osprey..

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=greencashew

Sir Lance

9:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cam came up at 9:30 or so THANK YOU
SIR LANCE

10:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

June 26,
No eagles, but I heard a bird. At first it sounded like a rattler, but I didn't think one would be there! Then the bird ended in a different tone...for sure a bird!

9:52 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

Tuesday, June 26th

11:50 AM ET

Whew .... thank goodness the cam is back up! It came up yesterday morning just as I was leaving to go into the office. I didn't get to computer until late last evening. It was great hearing the beautiful nighttime, seashore sounds. I did get up early and caught two fly-bys and some eagle chatter but no one on the nest. Presently the nest is quiet with fantastic songbird melodies!

Sir Lance certainly is keeping us up on our eagle's activity. His videos are superb. Thank you SIr Lance for keeping us visually updated! We love watching!

Very warm here in western NY ... 90 and above! I believe coastal Maine is in for the same heat wave (Anna?). Mom and Dad will most likely find themselves a large lofty pine branch to perch themselves under as they catch some ocean breezes!

Take care fellow eagle addicts. I look forward to your posts!

Chris
Grand Island, NY

11:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Video of a less than one minute visit around 2 p.m. June 26
Video

2:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear about the web cam problems and that it may be due to a hacker. It's too bad they can't devote their energies to improving the world instead of trying to break it! I remember a day when a 'hacker' was someone who tried to do just that!

Just how does one capture video off of the web cams? I've tried to capture still shots but just get a blank image.

Thanks.

3:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

2:02pm 6/26/07
I know you guys can't get enough of these eagles.... So here is a slow motion video of who I believe to be dads 45 second visit..
With slow motion eagle call

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1K8HNoi7vg
Sir lance

6:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi everyone,

Thought you might all be interested in this osprey site.

http://www.appart.com/osprey/


Maura (VA)

2:22 PM  
Blogger Chris said...

Thursday 6/28

Hello Fellow Armchair Biologists!

The nest has been rather quiet for the last day or so. Still lovely and I so appreciate having this cam!

There have been requests asking for help in making screen shots and video captures. Let me just say that I am definitely "capture challenged". I have received some very comprehensive directions. Now, I just need some time to put it all together and try it out. Thank goodness for the faithfulness of Sir Lance (clc) in posting his captures on this blog. They are great aren't they? I especially like the 6/26 slow motion video/audio of Dad. The slowed down eagle call almost sounds "spooky". Very cool. (I'm a Halloween baby ... love spooky stuff!). Thank you also to Judy for the link to her video. I know the BRI Armchair Biologists appreciate the efforts of all of our "capture experts".

The nest site is presently (10:38 AM ET) hazy and very calm ... not a pine needle is moving. I look forward to your posts. We'll all think optimistic thoughts with the hope of another visit from Mom or Dad

Catch you all later!

Chris
Grand Island, NY

10:41 AM  
Blogger indiana nesting eagles dave said...

Hi all; I just joined Blogger,and
it's going to take some time to
get use to it.The young bald eagle
here has gotten big,and has flown
off the nest but he returns to
feed.Mom and dad bring food in for
him sense he hasn't learned to
hunt yet.I just love watching them
every day.

Your friend in Indiana
Dave

1:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, you people who are getting the live eagle cam are lucky. I can't get it and haven't for some time. Why this should be (differences) I can't imagine.

3:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Judy, something seems to be wrong with the "video" you sent of the 6/26 visit. When I click on it I just get a Google blogger page to sign in on. Would love to see the video if you could send it again.

6:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

6/28
Wing -- could you tell us what it means to all the wonderful Bald Eagles now that the Feds have removed them from the endangered species list? How will this negatively impact the eagles. What protection will they not have that they did have? I am very concerned about this.

6:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fri. (just) June28.
Lance. Thanks so so much for the videos. I just watched the slow-motion one and it's beautiful. So amazing those eagles. Smiles.
Maggie in NH

1:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

6/29 Friday
Good morning all. Checked in......great to read all of the blogs. The nest is grey this am, water is too! Quiet little breeze, so nice to see and hear the coastal sites and sounds. Light eagle chatter in the background, but nobody's putting in an appearance at the nest......no driveby's either.
Finally got down the river to see 'our' nest....... it is as vacant as the one we watch. I was very surprised, but not shocked, since our other sturdy couple were thwarted in their efforts as well. Disappointing nonetheless. As many years as we've lived here (9?) we've always had a family. Wing, do we have any estimate as to just how bad of a hit our - Maine - eagle population took due to the powerful storms that struck earlier in the year? Kind of ironic since the eagle was just removed from the Endangered list.
Have a wonderful, safe, holiday everyone...Anna, do you have plans for this weekend? :):):)
Keep the faith, all.
Linnie

6:14 AM  
Blogger Diana B. said...

Friday, Jun 29, 2007
Interesting articles in today's New York Times! Read here and here . Great news!

Diana in Fairfield, Conn.

8:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

!!!!!WoooHoooo!!!!!!!
Eagles are off the endanger species list.
Some 10,000 nesting pairs from around 400, unbelievable. Huge milestone for the species.

Nate USGS SLC Utah.

9:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, I still can't get the loon or the osprey live cam, only the eagle last I knew. Soon as Kids in the Nest was added I couldn't get first one, then the other. Weird.
Karen in Denmark

3:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's great to hear that the bald eagles have made such a comeback! Amazing. I don't know if it's a good idea to take them of the endangered species list. ???
I haven't seen any birds at any of the cam sites.
Have a great weekend and a safe indepence day. Lovya, Mag

2:11 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home