Eagle Babies Cam

It's Spring again, and that means babies.... certainly baby birds. There's not much as special as being able to watch them in their nests, which is made possible by technology.

I am watching two adorable fuzzy bald eagles and a very good mom who tucks them under her when the wind blows... And the babies make sweet little chirps back to her.

MUST LOOK. So easy to keep open on one corner of your desktop while you TRY to concentrate on other things...

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Worth Going Out For... a baby elephant

The weather has been gorgeous this week, and it's even been chilly in the mornings. After a hideous, humid, mostly triple-digit summer (about half the year here), it's a welcome relief. I have spent very little time out doors due to how incredibly uncomfortable it has been and because my allergies have made life a struggle, and what I'm allergic to seems to be the outdoors. That's right, the entire outdoors (and most living things, lol)

This has been a dilemma to say the least for someone who gets so much joy and calm from being in nature. I haven't ridden a bike, been in the pool, taken a walk, or visited the park for most of the year -- things I had been doing almost every day.

So when it began to feel like East Coast Fall outside, I took my sneezing, coughing, short-of-breath self for all of the above and more. This morning's activity was particularly wonderful thing to do in the cool air and sunshine... see Tupelo, our absolutely adorable new Asian elephant baby, take her first steps out into a protected area of the yard with her mom to meet the herd. She was only 3 days old.

Particularly cute was to see her older half brother, Baylor, just born 5 months ago touch her trunk with his. Until now, he was the littlest one. Born at 390 lbs, Baylor was still 90 pounds bigger than little Tupelo.

Check out the Houston Zoo's blog post to see a movie of her nursing for the first time!

And on the day I am speaking of, our talented videographers got a shot of her getting so sleepy after nursing she has to take a little nap. Warning: exceedingly cute baby feet...

Baby Aminals!

Yesterday at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums convention, which the Houston Zoo is hosting, I sat and chatted for a bit with marketing master and science whiz Andrew Bleiman and portrait painter (fall-off-your-chair talented) and photographer Chris Eastland, the creators behind Zooborns.com.

If you've never gone to this website, YOU NEED TO, immediately (well, as soon as you finish reading this of course). There you'll find a daily dose of pictures, videos and news of baby animals born in zoos all over the world. It's a great way to show the good work is being done in zoos and conservation, but it's also just good squee.

Not long ago, they featured the pictures of the Houston Zoo's 6 tiny meerkat kits.The only pics I've seen that were cuter were of the baby hippo (click link to see) and the baby otters (below), both found in these fabulous books.

Simon and Schuster made the smart decision to publish their material; as a result Zooborns have have two new books coming out. Zoo Borns!, a book for kids age 2 and up, on sale starting October 19th, and ZooBorns, a picture book with animal facts, available November 2. But, you can order them now, right here on Zooborns.com through Amazon.

10% of the sale profits go to the AZA's Conservation Endowment fund, which makes a good thing better. And they were so kind as to give me a signed copy of each to auction off at the Wildlife Rehab and Education Center's Open House in Houston, on October 15. Good Karma and great success is clearly in line for these two guys.

Look for the books --At $12.99 each (even less at Amazon.com), they are perfectly priced for all those kiddie birthday parties your child is invited to, for your Godkids, nieces and nephews, for holiday gifts, baby showers or sweet 16-- and it's not just for kids. As we well know, just about everyone swoons over baby animals. It will cheer a friend in the hospital or anyone you know who's blue; it could be a hostess gift or be an original way to say thank you, or just make any average day that much brighter...

I'll be stocking up on a few to keep in my gift arsenal.

You can also follow Zooborns on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credits: Zooborns.com