WILDLIFE WATCHING -- The three rapidly maturing bald eagle youngsters in a 4-foot-wide tree-top nest are testing their wings, clearly eager for the upcoming first flight, as the world can see under the excellent Decorah Fish Hatchery web-cam in Iowa.

As of this morning, people have logged on to view the spectacle more than 154 million times since the adult bald eagles nested in March and the eaglets hatched in early April!

Camera operators are able to pan the lens to show eaglets off the nest and using their wings to "branch out" from the nests.  It's literally any minute or any day now before they take their first flights.

Leaving the webcam running on the computer while doing other tasks has been educational during the growth period.  For instance, my wife and I witnessed how the nest stays relatively clean despite the three diaperless chicks.

Starting from soon after they hatched, the eaglets have the muscle tone to eliminate their waste in a powerful stream they instinctly direct up and out of the nest.  Amazing to watch from the webcam.  But look out below!

Meantime, closer to home, at least two eaglets hatched around Earth Day at a Lake Washington bald eagle nest (near Seattle).  They are a little more than two weeks  younger than the Iowa eaglets.The camera placement doesn't offer  the intimate view of the Decorah eagle cam, but it's an interesting perspective.