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News and Blogs

Eaglet Growth and Development: Week Four

April 19, 2024 RaptorResource

We’re writing a series of blogs about the first few weeks of an eaglet’s life. An eaglet spends roughly 75 to 80 days in the nest. For about the first half, it grows and gains weight. For about the second half, it grows flight feathers and starts developing the skills it will need post-fledge. We will focus on week four in this blog. During week three (fourteen to twenty-one days), the dynamic duo shed most of their natal down, gained

April 19: Hatch watch at N2B, speckled goose visiting N1!

April 19, 2024 RaptorResource

The specked goose we’ve been seeing at N1 has an unusual and beautiful pattern of feathers on her head. Her striking looks are the result of leucism, a partial loss of pigmentation that causes white coloration, white patches, spots, or splotches on skin or fur. She hasn’t yet laid an egg, but our camera operators are on the lookout for hatch at N2B. Spring is a busy time for birds and everyone who watches them! 🐣🐥🦅🪿 We’ve had some questions

Bald Eagles, Menopause, and Ova

April 19, 2024 RaptorResource

Do bald eagles go through menopause? Probably not, since we’ve documented menopause or prolonged post-reproductive lifespans in just four species.

The American Kestrels are Back!

April 18, 2024 RaptorResource

Fans of micro raptors, rejoice! The kestrel cam is back online and the female has laid three eggs so far. Watch at our website: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/american-kestrels/ or at Cornell Lab of Ornithology: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/cams/american-kestrels/. Quick tip for screen shotters! Right-click twice on any youtube video feed on any website or at youtube to take a frame capture. Most awesomely, you can stop the video and right click without getting the video controls in your picture. No more screen captures unless you want

Cool Eagle News from Fort St. Vrain!

April 18, 2024 RaptorResource

We have extremely cool news from Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain plant! Donna Young and Elfruler got Ma FSV’s band number! She is 22-year-old 0629-44094, a single eaglet from a still-active nest about 45 miles east of the Fort St. Vrain site. Why is it important to get band numbers? In this case, it gave us some crucial information about Ma’s longevity and nest of origin. Eagles exhibit philopatry: the tendency of an animal to remain in or return to

Oh poop shoot! What is bird poop and how do birds poop?

April 17, 2024 RaptorResource

Oh poop shoot! After a long, wet morning snuggled under Mombrella and Poptent, DN17 and DN18 needed to let it fly! Wonderful moments like this inevitably lead to questions and comments like “What is bird poop?” and “Does bird poop stink?” and ‘Ewwww…where did I put those wet wipes?‘ So what is bird poop and how do birds poop? Defecation and Excretion If someone tells us their dog pooped, defecated, or excreted, we know that the dog dropped a solid.

What are feathers? What is molt?

April 16, 2024 RaptorResource

Eaglets go through two molts and three feather stages in the nest: natal down (and molt), followed by thermal down (and molt), followed by juvenile feathers. As of this blog, the Decorah North eaglets are shedding the very last of their natal down and their thermal down is rapidly being replaced by juvenile down and feathers. We thought we would blog a little more about feathers to celebrate! When we think about feathers, we tend to think about their qualities

April 15, 2024: NestFlix and News From Decorah North, the Trempealeau eagles, and N1

April 15, 2024 RaptorResource

Time to Nestflix and chill! At Decorah North, our grey grey tweagles are eating fish tails, sprouting pinfeathers and mohawks, coughing up pellets, and making all of their milestones! At Trempealeau, Mrs. T brings in an impressively large suckerfish and she and Mr. T defend the nest from a barred owl. The geese jumped this morning. Five of the six survived and the little family paddled downstream this morning. Perhaps we’ll see them below N2B or at the hatchery pond!

What are HM and HD up to?

April 15, 2024 RaptorResource

– By John Howe Many of you have been wondering what HM and HD have been up to. Earlier this season they were spending plenty of time in the new nest we referred to as N5. We have not been able to see details of how that nest was doing, but we at believed that they laid eggs and were in incubation mode. In recent weeks, we noticed that they have been perched together for longer periods outside the nest

Canada Geese: Precocial versus Altricial

April 14, 2024 RaptorResource

As watchers know, Canada geese are nesting in two abandoned bald eagle nests in Decorah, Iowa. N2B – currently a goose nest – is located about 700 feet east of N1, where geese started hatching yesterday. This blog discusses some of the differences between altricial eagles and precocial geese! Altricial eaglets rely on parental care until they fledge. But goslings are precocial: capable of moving around, self-feeding, and leaving the nest shortly after hatch. What does that mean? Read on