Quick Facts

• Where: USA, Black Water Refuge
• What: Bald Eagles
• When: Dec to July
• Cam: 30s Refresh

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is located near the city of Cambridge, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the United States. The Osprey Cam and Eagle Cam are projects of the http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/ a nonprofit citizens support group founded in 1987, which assists the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff in carrying out their educational, interpretive, and public use missions at the refuge. The Friends of Blackwater is composed solely of volunteers with no paid staff. Individuals can support the Friends by becoming a member, making a donation, or purchasing items from the Visitor Center store or from the online store. All proceeds from sales go towards supporting projects such as the online raptor cams.

Best Pictures

Picture of cam location

Location and subject
Since 2004, the Friends of Blackwater have been broadcasting live images from a camera located above a bald eagle nest in a loblolly pine tree at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The eagle nest is situated in a forest on the refuge property and is near the Blackwater River, which is where the eagles fish for their meals. Guests at the refuge can watch live video from the Eagle Cam on a TV monitor at the Visitor Center.

When to view
The eagles are at the nest from late December through July, but once the eagles leave the nest, the Friends turn off the camera until the following winter, since the nest does not see much action once the eagles disperse. The cam runs daily from 3am until 11pm, U.S. Eastern Time, and the images are normally refreshed at 30-second intervals. The camera on the eagle nest has infrared – or night-vision – technology, so the eagles are visible even after dark, but the daylight hours see the most action. In addition to the Eagle Cam, the Friends also keep an Eagle Cam Gallery and Eagle Cam Web Log, http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camcentral.html which is a written journal that follows the cam events.