A live cam in Big Bear went viral last week after bald eagle parents Jackie and Shadow hatched three baby chicks, and if you’re like us, you haven’t been able to stop watching. Tens of thousands of people have tuned in to see the little eagle family, which unfortunately lost a chick during the winter storm last weekend. Now, if you missed the Big Bear chicks hatching in real-time at the beginning of March, you’re in luck… because another bald eagle couple has just started hatching baby chicks this week.
The National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) is running multiple live cams of its famous bald eagle nest in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Resident bald eagle couple Scout and Bella are incubating three eggs as we speak in the “upper” eagle nest.
On Thursday morning, March 20th, a “pip” or crack appeared in one of the eggs, and the first chick hatched at 3:56pm ET. Read our article for the latest and some ideas of what to expect.
NCTC EagleCams
Camera 1
This camera angle will give you the best up-close view of the bald eagle nest. Eagle parents Scout and Bella usually take turns incubating the eggs.
Camera 2
The second camera angle gives you a wide view of the bald eagle nest. This is the 22-year-old “upper” nest, which is located about 90 feet up a Sycamore tree on the NCTC campus. There is another “lower” nest located about 75 feet up.
Bald eagles at NCTC
In 2003, bald eagles first built the upper nest on NCTC’s campus in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, which is about 75 miles from Washington, D.C. The nest’s current residents didn’t arrive until more recently, with Bella showing up in 2019 and Scout in 2023.
You can join the discussion about the bald eagle couple via the following sources:
- Outdoor Channel – This website includes links to the live cams and a discussion area for people to chat about the latest eagle news.
- “Live From the Eagle’s Nest” Studio Broadcasts – During nesting season, experts will fill you in on the latest via this bi-weekly program.
- Bald Eagles 101 Facebook page – Eagle fans provide updates about the NCTC nest and several others.
The “EagleCam” project is a collaboration between the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Outdoor Channel, and the Friends of the National Conservation Training Center.
More animal live cams
Of course, any wildlife fan knows that these bald eagle livestreams are just the tip of the iceberg. If you can’t get enough of these up-close views, make sure you read our list of 12 more animal live cams to watch right now. From the mesmerizing feed of bright orange Sea Nettle jellies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to brown bears at a sanctuary in Romania, we can’t recommend these enough.