Earlier this morning I saw a link to a live webcam of a Robin’s nest, I didn’t think much of it at first, these aren’t uncommon. I remember only a few weeks ago an eagle had built its nest on a office building somewhere in the USA and because it was drawing so much attention the building owners setup a live cam for people to watch. Once I got back to my computer this afternoon, I learned that the Robin’s Nest was in fact right here in Yellowknife. I contacted the operator of the live stream, who happens to be fellow blogger Shane Keller, to ask him some questions about the experience. It is not everyday we get to see baby robin hatch, let alone broadcast it to the world. Here is what he had to say:

How did you come to find/have this Robin’s Nest?

I discovered it the day we moved into our new house (May 29). I was inspecting underneath the deck and saw the nest but did not think it was an active one. Later that day I looked through the crack on the deck and noticed the 3 little blue eggs. Since then we have kept our cats away from it and we have provided additional coverage from the elements and other predators.

How is the nest located so that you can get a camera at it?

I had to use a ladder to reach it under the deck.I used a logitech webcam, 2 metres of duct tape, 2 screws and 6 metres of USB cable to reach a laptop inside the house.

What gave you the idea to broadcast it live?

I remembered seeing something like it before and decided this would be a really cool thing to share with other people. I mean how often do you get to see chicks hatch in your own backyard and watch them grow?

Are you gaining anything from watching these birds, other then the joy of new life?

It is an amazing experience to realize there are other creatures sharing our living spaces. I feel like they are part of the family now and we’ve become quite protective of them. We have also used Wikipedia and a few other resources to learn about Robin’s. All in all, we feel like this has brought a new dynamic into our lives albeit temporary.

What do you hope others will get out of it that are watching live?

I hope others enjoy watching our little birds grow up and leave the nest and continue on with the circle of life as much as we do. We have already had a few people who were pretty excited about it contact us.

How long will you broadcast live? When did you start?

We stared the broadcast June 7 right after the first chick hatched. We plan on broadcasting it until the chicks leave the nest, which, according to Wikipedia will likely be 2 to 3 weeks.

Shane also told me that he is trying his best to keep the stream live, but his internet connection drops every so often. If it does drop, he says, there is archived video for everyone to watch.

To watch the Live Robin’s Nest click here or watch it embedded below.