On October 6, 2018, we turned the cameras back on. We were on tenterhooks. Would Mom accept a new mate? Would the North eagles adopt their new nest? On October 15, the male eagle we called DM (for Decorah Male) and now know as UME-2 (for Unknown Male Eagle 2) landed on N2B for the first time. Things kicked into high gear on October 24 as Mom and her new consort began nestorations in earnest. We were thrilled as the two hauled in and placed sticks, husks, and stalks, danced the stick tango, treated watchers to episodes of the Beakerson’s, and copulated with what looked like interest and enthusiasm (if not necesarily experience)! I loved this comment from a Decorah Eagle chat mod: “A milestone event that caused me to happy-dance was in late October when UME2 brought his first cornhusk to the nest, and Mom joined him there to help. From there on the stick-deliveries have been amazing, and it’s wonderful to see UME2 doing so much work on the nest, bringing big smiles to all us eagle-lovers watching!” It so catches how all of us were feeling!
How about the North Nest? We were dismayed to see our fishy treats in the nest when we turned the camera back on. The North Nest had been a hard build (especially for Kike Arnal) and we didn’t know whether the eagles would accept it. We were beyond excited when an eagle landed in the nest on October 7 and started gulping down the fish.
Thanks so much for watching with us this year and a huge hand to the volunteer moderators and camera operators at all of our nests for sharing the stories of the birds we watch and love. It was a complicated and tangled year, a hard year in some places, and absolutely a year of tears and triumphs for all of us! John put together a couple of videos that will hopefully make the Confusion Couch a little less crowded (What’s with all these acronyms? DM? UME-2? Are we watching Mr. and Mrs. North?). We’ll be posting information on the Decorah nest tomorrow.
Happy New Year, everyone!
The Raptor Resource Project