The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Eagle Cam is back online, offering viewers worldwide 24-7 access to live video and audio captured at a bald-eagle nest in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
The Eagle Cam is provided through a partnership among the Game Commission, HDOnTap, Comcast Business and Codorus State Park.
Once again this year, the Eagle Cam features two cameras, each equipped with a microphone, placed 75 feet high in a tree adjacent to Codorus State Park. Eagles have nested at the tree for more than a decade, and have successfully fledged young there many times.
While the 2017 run of the Eagle Cam at the same tree was successful, with two eaglets hatching in March and taking their first flights in June, there was some question whether the Eagle Cam would be back at the same tree in 2018.
The nest, which had partially collapsed and was rebuilt ahead of the 2017 nesting season, collapsed further since the Eagle Cam last was online. But once again, the adult eagles using the nest tree have rebuilt the nest, and appear to have it ready for another go in the coming months.
Game Commission Executive Director Bryan J. Burhans said the uncertainty of what will happen next is part of why so many Eagle Cam viewers regularly tune in. As many as 1.5 million viewers have watched the Eagle Cam during a single nesting season.
“While it’s always a thrill to see a bald eagle in the wild, the Game Commission’s Eagle Cam allows viewers to see bald eagles in ways they never could through binoculars or a spotting scope,” Burhans said. “As we’ve seen in recent years, there’s no predicting what will happen next on the Eagle Cam. But while those eagles are in and around the nest, you can pretty much guarantee you’ll see something fascinating.”
Of course, the Eagle Cam wouldn’t be possible without the support of many partners.
Comcast Business and its technicians worked with the Game Commission and partner HDOnTap to provide a static IP address and provide 100 Mbps broadband service near the nesting site.
“Comcast Business is proud again this year to provide the fast, reliable internet service that helps make the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Eagle Cam a great educational tool for people around the world,” said Toni Murphy, Vice President of Comcast Business for the Keystone Region.
HDOnTap once again is providing the livestreaming services that make round-the-clock viewing of the Eagle Cam possible. HDOnTap marketing director Tassia Bezdeka said the Game Commission’s Eagle Cam has been the most popular of any of the nest cams the service has streamed.
“HDOnTap is honored to participate in our fourth year of partnership with the Pennsylvania Game Commission in streaming the Hanover bald eagle nest,” Bezdeka said. “This is our most popular nest cam, and we, alongside the public, look forward to watching the eagles. Last year, viewers enjoyed over 6.8 million hours of 24-7, live HD video and audio from the nest, as well as daily time-lapse clips on screens worldwide. We can’t wait to see what develops this season!”
The Game Commission also would like to thank the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Codorus State Park for making the Eagle Cam a reality.
Codorus State Park operations manager Deanna Schall said the project helps the masses learn more about eagles.
“We are happy to again be involved in a partnership that allows people from around the world to get an inside look at an active eagle nest,” Schall said. “We receive so many appreciative comments from people across the country, and teachers who use the livestream in their classrooms as a teaching tool. Visitors can also get a good view of the nest from a vantage point near our Classroom Building in the marina, using a binocular viewer installed by the Friends of Codorus State Park. Often times you can also find some of our very dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers with their scopes at this location, ready to share some information and the experience of bird watching through a scope.
To view the Eagle Cam, go to the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov and click on the Hanover Bald Eagle Live Stream link in the Quick Clicks section of the homepage. The livestream can be accessed on the page that will open.
Twitter and Facebook users also can share the Eagle Cam with friends by tweeting #PGCEagleCam.
Even though there’s weeks to go before any egg-laying or incubating might occur, Burhans said the Eagle Cam always is worth looking in on.
“There’s no better way to observe eagle behavior and nature as it really is,” Burhans said.
