An eagle and three chicks were startled when their nest on Santa Cruz Island off the California coast started shaking as a strong earthquake rattled the area Thursday.
The alarmed parent eagle promptly flew the coop, leaving the chicklets to fend for themselves. Luckily, the nest withstood the temblor and the surprised babies made it through their first quake.
The shaking nest and birds' reaction were captured by the Institute for Wildlife Studies' nest cam.
The magnitude 5.3 quake struck just before 12:30 p.m. PST near the Channel Islands in Southern California.
No one was injured and there was no reported damage, but it's the strongest earthquake to strike the region in several years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
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