Ospreycam!

[auroracloud]

In the last few years, WWF Finland have installed a few live webcams in places where various wild animals spend their time, so people can learn more about their lives. Their osprey webcam now has occupants! They're filming a nesting place of a pair of ospreys, and the birds returned there a couple of days ago and have started gathering nest materials. They've also started attempting to make baby ospreys.

They're magnificent birds, and fascinating to observe. I love looking at them. If you need any proof that birds are actually dinosaurs, ospreys are a pretty good example.

Once May starts, we'll also get the biggest hit of the webcams, the seal cam... Then we'll all watch Saimaa ringed seals rest on sunny rocks to aid their molting.

Comments

[dolorosa_12]

That's really cool! I'll definitely be coming back to check in on the osprey webcam, and the seal one, again and again.

[auroracloud]

Yay! They're lovely! I'll try to remember to post once the sealcam is active - and once the seal(s) have been sighted! It's a super rare seal, that only lives in the lake Saimaa - I think the history is that after the last ice age, as the sea level lowered and the land rose, that lake became disconnected from what's now the Baltic Sea and so the seals that lived there have become their own species. They're really endangered, though, partly because of human activity like fishing nets and partly because global warming is making it harder for their cubs. So they've become the symbol of conservation in Finland. WWF is hoping for more funds for protecting the seals and other endangered animals (as well as climate and biodiversity in general) by the interest raised by the webcams. The ospreys also have some difficulties because suitable nesting sites are becoming rarer, so that's one of the reasons why they've also got a webcam. (And I bet one of the reasons is also simply that they're awesome. :-D)