Please Help FOLFAN Upgrade our Bald Eagle Nest Cam

Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma (FOLFAN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the state park cooperating association for the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (FLSRA). Our state park includes Lake Natoma, Folsom Lake, and the American River that connects the two lakes. We are lucky to have several pairs of bald eagles that call our park their home. One pair, which nest in an area adjacent to an urban environment, have been actively monitored since 2017, and FOLFAN has been part of that effort. The eagle pair has had 16 successful hatches and 15 successful fledges since 2017, including three healthy fledglings last year!

Our Bald Eagle Interpretive Program includes the following components:

• A nest cam which provides live-streaming of the nest;

• Bald Eagle Docents who help the visiting public observe the eagles in a safe and respectful way;

• Installation of an informative kiosk within the parkway where the nest is located;

• Educational programs for school children; and

• Development of a Visitor Center which will include a significant bald eagle exhibit.

Please help FOLFAN upgrade our nest cam and enhance our interpretive program! This Go Fund Me campaign will help us replace our first-generation nest cam, which is located about 150’ from the nest and is only about ten feet off the ground. Over the past two years, foliage on the oak trees growing between the camera and the nest has begun to obstruct our view of the nest and has occasionally caused issues with camera focus. Our first-generation camera does not have a microphone input, so we are unable to hear the incredible sounds and vocalizations made by the eagles and their eaglets. (Archived videos from our current camera can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/FOLFAN-Videos ).

We have secured a new site for our live nest cam which is higher and has an unobstructed view of the nest. We would like to upgrade our camera with one which has a more powerful zoom lens (45x) and which also has a microphone input. We would also like to install a parabolic microphone to add sound to our live stream. The special shape of a highly directional parabolic microphone will focus on the eagle vocalizations when they are in the nest and will mechanically amplify their sounds while minimizing any unwanted noise from other directions.

Our live nest cam is an important component of FOLFAN’s Bald Eagle Interpretive Program which is undertaken in cooperation with California State Parks. Our program serves to inform and educate park visitors about these wild and protected birds who live seasonally in our state park. As mentioned above, FOLFAN provides docents who inform visitors about how to view nesting bald eagles safely and respectfully. They also answer park visitors’ questions about the eagles and their behavior and development. Our docents provide park visitors with spotting scopes (set up 400 feet away from the nest at a designated viewing area). We would also like our docents to be able to provide park visitors with access to live video from our nest cam via high brightness (1200 nit) tablet computers using a WiFi hot spot. Visitors are encouraged to use our bald eagle nest cam so they can follow what’s happening in and around the nest without the need to visit in person.

In addition to the physical upgrade of our nest cam, our GoFundMe campaign will allow FOLFAN to partner with the American Eagle Foundation (AEF) to become part of their network of nest cams. The educational benefit of AEF’s nest cam program is unprecedented and allows global viewers a “bird’s eye view” into the lives of bald eagles and other birds of prey. A moderated chat function will be embedded in our nest cam page and will allow viewers to comment and ask questions about the eagles. Knowledgeable and friendly moderators will help guide the discussion and provide insight into the eagles’ behaviors. The AEF also encourages students and groups who are studying eagles or related topics to reserve time in the chat to ask questions and learn from experts.

Our goal is to raise $12,500. This budget includes $7,500 to upgrade our camera and microphone; $2,500 to create a new online interpretative program with the American Eagle Foundation; and $2,000 to purchase two high brightness tablets that our docents could set up at our designated viewing area. Money raised in excess of our stated goal will go toward other aspects of our Bald Eagle Interpretive Program.

We would greatly appreciate any amount that you could donate, great or small, to help support our efforts in sharing the joy, laughter, and education that we all receive from watching the bald eagles. Based on past years’ behavior, this pair of eagles will return to the nest in November for nest reconstruction and to begin mating. We expect they will lay their eggs in the beginning of February, with a hatch in March. If fully funded, we will seek to install the new camera and microphone during the November/December time period, weather permitting.

Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma (FOLFAN), and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.