The Decorah Bald Eagles (also known as Decorah Eagles or variations) is a website[2] featuring a live-streaming webcam trained on a bald eagle nest and family in Decorah, Iowa.[3] The Raptor Resource Project installed and runs the live stream for research purposes. It is one of more than a dozen eagle webcams across the United States.[4]
Filmed in real time, the parents can be seen delivering a variety of freshly caught prey, feeding the eaglets, and protecting them from predators and harsh weather. With the help of infrared lighting, the nest is viewable around the clock during the nesting season, which typically begins in January or February, with fledge in June.[5][6][7]
The Decorah Eagles became an Internet phenomenon and the most viewed live-stream of all time when the website reached 250 million views on Ustream in 2011, with roughly 2.4 million views per day.[8] Ustream began hosting the video feed in 2011, although the live-cam was initiated in 2007, and was used to provide footage for the PBS Nature documentary "American Eagle'" released in 2008. In May 2020 the eagles were featured in NOVA's documentary "Eagle Power".[9][10]
Viewers missed the 2013 season after the eagle couple built and moved to an alternate nest ("N2"). Cameras were installed in the new nest and caught the 2014 and 2015 filming seasons, when the couple selected it again.[11]