Updated: Sat Apr. 04 2009 11:47:31

The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — The critters inside the eggs, mere days, if not hours from hatching, aren't the only ones with eagle eyes.

Thousands of people from around the world are flocking to the website for B.C.-based Hancock Wildlife Foundation to watch live streaming video of a pair of bald eagle eggs.

Two cameras, set up near a nest in Delta, B.C., first caught the mother laying the eggs in February.

With the eaglets ready to emerge any time now, more and more viewers are tuning in, watching for the slightest sign of their arrival.

"We call ourselves eagle-holics because most of us really are," Karen Bills, Hancock's project co-ordinator, said with a laugh.

Bills said the viewers, many of whom are elderly, some from as far away as Australia and Europe, are watching intently for little cracks in the eggs, known as pips.

The eaglet has a pip tooth at the end of its beak that it uses to break free from the shell. Once the eaglet is out, the pip dries up and falls off.

"The only purpose that it serves is to peck little holes, little jagged holes, all the way around the circumference of the shell and it gradually works its way out," Bills said.

As the expected arrival date has grown closer and closer, Hancock's website traffic has grown busier and busier. Bills said so many people have been tuning in that she sometimes can't get on the feed.

But not all the reviews have been positive.

Some have suggested the cameras interfere with nature and do more harm than good. But it's a claim Bills disputes.

"I can name you numerous cases where if the cam wasn't there, the eaglet would have died."

She said a 10-week-old eaglet tumbled out of another Delta nest last year and fell all the way to the ground.

Viewers immediately contacted Hancock and a rescue crew was on the scene within seven minutes.

"(The Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society) kept him in their facility until he was ready to go and put on the proper weight."

The eagle was eventually released.

The rehabilitation society's Bev Day, who has been caring for birds since 1978, says the cameras also serve as an invaluable learning tool.

"There may be other people that argue the fact, but I'm really a true believer in them," she said.

"I've been doing this 30 years now and I'm still learning."

Day said the public tends to be respectful of the eagle nest, which is located outside the rehabilitation society's refuge. Those who aren't are shooed away by staff.

Some of the eagle-holics have grown anxious waiting for the big moment.

One user on the site's discussion forum said Friday, "Not seeing any indication of cracks or pips in the eggs," a posting that was accompanied by a frowning emoticon.

The not-for-profit Hancock Wildlife Foundation was established by David Hancock, a biologist, filmmaker, writer and publisher. It aims to promote the conservation of wildlife and its habitats through science, education and stewardship.