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News and Blogs

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

April 13, 2024: Goose hatch has started!

April 13, 2024 RaptorResource

Geese have started hatching in our N1 nest! Watch for the Leap of Faith tomorrow or Monday: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/ and read more about it here: https://www.raptorresource.org/2024/04/13/your-questions-answered-the-goslings-and-the-leap-of-faith/.

Your questions, answered: the goslings and the leap of faith

April 13, 2024 RaptorResource

The goslings in N1 are hatching and we’re getting a lot of questions about the gosling Leap of Faith, which should happen tomorrow or Monday. Will the goslings jump? How will they survive? Are they really ready to leave the nest? Read on for the answers to your questions! Will the goslings really jump? They will! Watch for The Leap of Faith to happen roughly 24 to 48 hours after hatch. Mother Goose will leave the nest and both parents

Second-Week Milestones: An Illustrated Book!

April 10, 2024 RaptorResource

(More than) an eaglet a day: an illustrated book of DN17 and DN18’s second week of life! Click through the photos to see and read about their milestones and behaviors. Thanks to our camera operators, our moderators, and STLbf on our forum for photos, information, and text! April 4, 2024: Grey thermal down tracts are peeking out between feathery white natal tufts, the eaglets are more alert and aware of their surroundings, and they have enough strength, balance, and coordination

April 8, 2024: What are we looking forward to this week? News and NestFlix from around our Nests!

April 8, 2024 RaptorResource

What a weekend! The second eaglet hatched at Trempealeau, a male eagle – Mr. T? – has finally started to help with brooding and stocking the pantree, and the tiny North nest bobbleheads were replaced by great growing eaglets in grey flannel pajamas. We’re looking forward to hatch at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest on or around April 10, hatch at the N1 goose nest next weekend, and the leap of faith a day or two later. It’s springtime

Eaglet Growth and Development: Week Three

April 8, 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 three in this blog. DN17 and DN18 turned 15 and 14 days old today. During week two (seven to 14 days),

Hatch Fundraiser!

April 6, 2024 RaptorResource

Welcome to our hatch fundraiser! We know that not everyone who watches can give, but any donation in any amount helps us meet our mission of education, conservation, and research: https://www.raptorresource.org/support-the-raptor-resource-project/make-a-donation/. You are also welcome to join us for chat: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-north-nest/. If you are reading this, you’ve watched our Bald Eagle cameras and you know what a marvelous year it’s been so far. But beyond the cute overload – and DN17 and DN18 are so cute! – we research bald

Trempealeau Eagles Update

April 5, 2024 RaptorResource

What’s going on at the Trempealeau eagle nest and where is Mr. T? We haven’t seen him since March 28. Prior to that, he and Mrs. T were exchanging incubation duties and he was acting like a normal eagle Dad. But we haven’t seen him on the nest since his last shift and no one has reported or found him, live or dead, in the vicinity of the nest. The couple’s first eaglet hatched on very late on April 2nd

What’s Up With the Geese? Canada Geese, Reproduction, and Conspecific Brood Parasitism

April 5, 2024 RaptorResource

On Saturday April 1, goose watchers at N2B saw a female goose fly into the nest. After a lot of biting, pushing, and tussling, she laid an egg despite MG and PG’s best attempts to repel her. One of the local eggs dropped out of the nest, although MG and PG ended up incorporating the intruder’s egg into their own clutch. At one point, it was thought that Canada geese were strictly monogamous. Close observation has yielded a more nuanced