Our second thanks. You might have started watching with us in 1997, when Bob and Mike Miser (then the manager at Xcel Energy’s Allen S. King plant) brought Mae’s Internest to the world. You might have joined us in 2003, when Bob and Rob MacIntyre put the Xcel Fort St. Vrain eagle cam online. You could have thrilled to the Decorah Eagle cam in 2009 (a capture every two minutes), in 2010 (a livestream from Luther College), in 2011 (when the Decorah Eagles became a worldwide phenomenon), or in 2015, when John Howe brought us into the digital age. Maybe you just started watching this year.
This is your story. You watch with a beloved child or grandchild on your lap. You share the wonder of the Decorah eagles with a classroom that might not get to see much wildlife or wildlands. You hold the hand of a grandparent, parent, sibling, or child as the eagles ease their transition from health into illness, or from life into death – something Bob felt keenly in the last few months of his own life. The eagles stir you into action for your own community. You pick up trash, educate people about balloons (they blow!), or volunteer for a raptor or wildlife center. Maybe you rejoice in finding a community of people who care about the same thing you do. Like any family, you have your disagreements. But the eagles and the eagle nation are always there for you!
Thanks to our followers and fans across the world for all they do for us, and for all wildlife and wild lands. Your donations are our primary source of support, and your actions, letters, thanks, and stories move us beyond words!
This is another favorite capture of Dad Decorah. Long may his offspring fly! And a piece of fan fiction about the Decorah eagles (full disclosure…written by a family member). The Coming of The Long Days.
The Raptor Resource Project