PROJECT 10 – 2008 - NEW KEEP LAKE BARKLEY OSPREY NEST CAM SYSTEM AND WEB SITE

KEEP is proud to announce new KEEP technical volunteers and donations for the 2008 live cam osprey-nesting season! This significant development is making it possible to provide improved image quality and visual format! KEEP’s goal includes continual improvements whenever possible in projects and achievements. The entire equipment set up and camera location have been very significantly improved for the 2008 cam-nesting season. New equipment is in place and has been successfully tested as our osprey pair recently returned and are preparing final touches on their nest. Live images of the nest site are available during daylight hours.

Past Kentucky osprey nest cam viewers will immediately notice our improvements and camera capabilities. Hopefully new viewers will also join us at KEEP’s new web site. Viewers are encouraged to share our web site address with others who will want to observe nesting ospreys and become involved with KEEP. Announcements will soon be sent to schools and newspapers about the new enhanced KEEP nest viewing opportunities.

The new camera system is state of the art and for the first time will provide KEEP staff administrators physical control of the camera from anywhere in the world over the Internet. Pan, tilt and zoom will be possible for the first time with a higher quality sharper camera lens. This will allow the KEEP staff to capture close-up images of eggs and chicks while also allowing wide-angle views showing the young ospreys as they mature with the entire family in view. Images will be placed in a user-friendly photo gallery format on the KEEP web site for all to enjoy while also providing reference material for education projects.

Hundreds of volunteer hours have gone into the development and implementation of new equipment and software. KEEP seeks continued public support and from all interested organizations so that our hope for new projects can become a reality. KEEP hopes to continue to make large improvements in the quality and numbers of new projects and invites your participation and support thru KEEP memberships, volunteerism and donations. Please consider helping KEEP, Inc. in our efforts to improve projects and fund exciting new projects.

KEEP is working to develop new educational materials for schools to use to enhance their studies of ospreys and the environment. It is hoped that schools will incorporate ospreys in their class work using the excellent images and materials available at KEEP’s web site. For example, what do ospreys eat? Observe at the osprey cam nest site on the Internet to discover the answer. How many eggs do ospreys lay? Observe and count. How many days are required for an osprey egg to hatch? Observe and record egg laying and hatch dates for the answer. How many days before an osprey grows up and flies for the first time? Observe and learn. Which osprey, the male or female does most of the fishing for the entire family? Discover how to distinguish the male osprey from the female adult osprey and you will soon discover the answer.

KEEP will be providing all operations expenses for this improved project thru donations to KEEP Inc. and welcomes viewer comments and support for this exciting project. If you would like to make donations for this or other KEEP projects, please select the donation button on KEEP’s home page.