Monthly Archives: December 2018

We got another postcard from D27!

D27 November 29, 2018 map

We got another postcard from D27! As daylight length dwindles, the sun’s inclination falls, and snow clouds pile up, it isn’t uncommon for our eagles to ‘go dark’. Depending on the weather, there might not be enough sun in the sky to charge transmitter batteries – so cross your talons for some sun! D27’s airmail let us know that she is staying in and around the Decorah area. The deep river valleys, trees, and open water are providing her with

Fishy Business at N2B!

Courtship at N2B

From Sherri Elliott – Sherri, thanks for sharing your observations and your image! I’m not sure why some people were making a big deal out of UME-2 not sharing his fish with Mom when we’ve seen years of Dad exhibiting the same behavior…and Mom too. She was ‘refrigerator-eating’ on 11-14 & 11-15 while continually looking over her shoulder to gulp down her fish. I think their relationship is progressing nicely, and bonding and courting is more than just nestorations, bringing

A Reflection and a Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2018

November 23rd would have been Bob Anderson’s birthday. I assume that our friend and founder would finally have achieved his dream of retirement – or at least semi-retirement – and be busy with his book by now. Given the thankful nature of the season, it seems like a good time to take stock of where the Raptor Resource Project has been, where it plans on going, and what I have to be thankful for. For those of you who don’t

Where is D27?

D27 in November

Where is D27? She is currently spending time just south of Decorah. Brett wrote: “D-27 remains in the area on or near the N. Fork of the Yellow River near Frankville, IA (N of Postville) and north of Ossian, near D-24’s hang-out (past and hopefully present).” I got curious about how her travels this fall compared to last fall, so I made a map of eagle travels in November. By this time last fall, D27 was further south. We’re very

Where is D27?

D27 Map from Brett Mandernack

Where is eaglet D27? As watchers know, she isn’t too far from home! Brett’s last reading put her just five miles from the hatchery, but she was sitting almost right next to N2B on the evening of the 19th! We had more than one visitor that day and the next morning, but we haven’t seen a transmitter on anyone yet. We’ll keep everyone posted! To explore the travels of all of the eagles we’ve tracked, visit our interactive maps page

Who’s on N2B? Welcome to the Confusion Couch!

Eagle Heads

Welcome to the Confusion Couch! Many of our followers are asking “Who is that eagle?” after watching the Decorah and Decorah North nests this week. In Decorah, an adult male eagle that we’ve been calling DM isn’t DM (or Dad – sorry, everyone!). And we can’t decide who we’re seeing ar Decorah North. Is that Mr. and Mrs. North, or are we seeing somebody else? Let’s start with Decorah. We originally thought that DM came to N2B a couple of

Starter Nest For The North Eagles

Kike Arnal at the North Nest

We are working on a starter nest for the North Eagles this week! Here is a link to the story: http://www.kwwl.com/story/39133159/2018/09/20/north-nest-coming-back-after-a-tragic-end. Mrs. North has given us a look-see, followed the river, perched in favorite trees, and caught a few fish. We’ve also seen Sandhill Cranes, Red-Headed Woodpeckers, Yellow-shafted Flickers, deer, and cattle, just to name a few. The valley of the Norths is a busy place! Pictured is photographer, researcher, and eagle-nest whisperer Kike Arnal. Kike is building the platform

Storm Topples North Nest

Decorah North Nest: after and before the storm

We are very sorry to announce that the Decorah North Nest fell last night during a storm. We visited the nest today to assess the damage and look for Mr. and Mrs. North. Somewhat to our surprise, there were no freshly broken branches or limbs at the base of the tree or beneath the fallen nest. Given the high wind gusts and lashing rain that accompanied last night’s storm, we think that the wind blew the nest’s supporting branches off-kilter.

D27 is on the move!

D27's Travel Map to August 12, 2018

D27 is on the move! She flew 312.8 miles SE between August 8th and August 12th, moving with some urgency (Brett’s words) from Magiss to Buckingham Lake. Broken down by day, her journey looks like this: 8/8/2018 | 114.7 miles | 14 hours and 58 minutes 8/9/2018 | 71.6 miles | 3 hours 8/10/2018 | 4.3 miles | N/A 8/11/2018 | 89.2 miles | 6 hours 8/12/2018 | 33 miles | 6 hours She traveled for a total of roughly

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