Web Cams Give Peek Into Oklahoma Bald Eagle Nest

A pair of Oklahoma Bald Eagles are expecting. The eagles recently laid four eggs in a nest near Stillwater. And you can watch as the clutch gets ready to hatch.

You can watch through a system of web cameras managed by the Sutton Avian Research Center.

"We're trying to give people the opportunity to have a little window into the private lives of the Bald Eagles," said Senior Biologist Dan Reinking.

The Sutton Avian Research Center has cameras mounted over two Bald Eagle nests in Oklahoma, one at Sooner Lake near Stillwater and another near Vian.

That nest was recently taken over by two Great Horned Owls, and they laid their own eggs, but the nest is now abandoned.

2/7/2013 Related Story: Watch Live: Great Horned Owl Adopts Abandoned Egg In Oklahoma Eagle Nest

Reinking said it's unusual for bald eagles to lay four eggs. He said they'll hatch at different times and it's typical for the chicks to attack and kill their smaller nest mates.

"There's a big size difference in the chicks when they do hatch, and the larger, stronger chicks are more competitive and better able to secure the food that's brought back," Reinking said.

The Sutton Avian Center says there's a group of Bald Eagles who spend winter there from the Great Lakes region, and another 150 pair or so, who live in the state year-round.

"We're learning, as much as anything, about the magnificence of life," said the center's Executive Director, Steve Sherrod.

Sherrod said these web cameras are important to help scientists learn about the eagles, which, in turn, helps their conservation.

"It's not just a matter of saving the nest. You have to save the area where they hunt and where the young fledge, too, when they learn to hunt, and so the more you can learn about them, the better chance you have of saving our environment and our wildlife," Sherrod said.

The eggs are expected to hatch in about two weeks.

In the meantime, you can watch the parents take turns keeping the eggs warm, turning the eggs over every 30 to 60 minutes. And once they hatch, the parents will be busy feeding and protecting the next generation of our national bird.

You can follow along and watch those Bald Eagles incubate their eggs here.