Watch Papa Bald Eagle Lose His Cool During SoCal Earthquake

LOS ANGELES, CA — If Thursday’s 5.3 magnitude earthquake left you a little rattled, don’t worry: you’re in good company. A webcam trained on the nest of a bald eagle on Santa Cruz Island captured the quake along with papa bird’s freakout.

Nestled high in the treetops not far from the quake’s epicenter south of the Channel Islands, the bald eagle watches over his three chicks – a model dad, guarding, feeding and fussing over the hatchlings. But when the tree starts shaking, he bolts, leaving his fuzzy chicks to ride it out alone.

Youtuber Ladyhawk, posted the video, explaining what happened. “A-40 (Dad) is on the nest and becomes frightened and flies off the nest as we see it shaking violently. A-40 returns quickly to the nest. The earthquake was over quickly and thankfully the babies are fine. “

Viewers around the world breathed a sigh of relief when the babies made it through their first major earthquake.

“Holy Cow!!! Never seen anything like this,” wrote one poster. “I hope no one was hurt!!! Thank goodness our feathered friends weren't!”

Another viewer, Angel Bookman got a kick out of the papa bird’s loss of composure. “Poor dad scared,” she wrote. “Glad the babies didn't seemed too bothered.”

One of North America’s largest birds of prey, the bald eagle population was wiped out on Santa Cruz Island by human predation and pollution in the 1950s, according to the National Park Service. However, a reintroduction program began in 2002, leading to today’s population of about 60 birds. Papa bald eagle is one of the few that has successfully bred in the wild since the program began.

The earthquake, the largest to hit Southern California in four years, could be felt more than 50 miles away. Epicentered off the coast, it caused little damage to the LA Region, but photos from the Channel Islands show dramatic landslides on the cliff-lined shore.

A quake of that magnitude is expected to be followed by days of smaller aftershocks, so the bald eagle will have more chances to test his mettle.

"We can expect aftershocks in the next few days," explained Caltech Seismologist Jen Andrews.

Already, there have been three quakes 2.5 or larger in Southern and central California since Thursday afternoon.

RELATED: 5.3 Earthquake Strikes Near Los Angeles