Decorah Eagles

Most of you by now have heard about the eagle nest that is live streaming from Decorah, Iowa. They were the talk of the town last year, and if the increase in advertising on their site is any indication, nothing has changed this year.

My kids check up on them regularly at school, and over the long weekend asked to see them at home. So we went to the site, watched them for awhile, and went on with our day. It was Easter weekend, we were busy, and didn't have much time to spend watching eagles.

But this morning before school, my daughter woke up early and asked me to go downstairs with her. Typically, I would tell her to go back to bed, but today I just went with her. She wanted to watch the eagles.

So with her in my lap with her blanket and stuffed puppy, we settled in and watched the sunrise over the eagles.

Being the younger of two kids, with the older being a very verbal and exuberant child, my little lady doesn't get much time to talk without interruption. So I was surprised at her questions while we watched the mama (or papa?) bird sit over her babies and brace herself against the wind, become very alert at a flock of geese honking as they flew by, and the silly little song birds who kept trying to peek into the nest.

It was one of the magical moments you can't expect as a parent. I was glad to have the eagles to watch this morning, as we talked about everything from why God makes baby animals different colors from their parents to how the babies like to be sat on, to if the mama bird is really yelling to the daddy to get back with breakfast.

My adult inclination is to say I don't have time to watch a live stream of a bird sitting on her babies. But today, I am glad I got to see them through a child's eyes.