D27 Update

D27 on January 7, 2019

D27 Map: January 7 2019

Thanks for the airmail, D27! It looks like she’s decided to stay in Decorah for now. Brett commented “Perhaps the mild weather has had something to do with her sticking around or maybe this is what we can expect for future years – stay where the getting is good.”

 
D27 did take one long trip in December – a one-day jaunt to the Mississippi River! At 10:00AM CT, she was located about 1.3 miles NE of her natal nest in Decorah. Three hours later, she was in a small wooded lot 57 miles north, near a location I sometimes stop to look for falcons. Three hours after that, she 51 miles south and back in the Decorah area! Her average speed was 18 miles an hour – a leisurely pace that might permit a little exploring or social time. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing why she decided to take a day trip, although she briefly visited the area last March as well.
 
What else did D27 do? She spent some time at Mulch Mountain on December 19, came very close to her natal nest on December 6, and circled Decorah in early January. What will she do next? We look forward to finding out!
 
A million thanks to Brett Mandernack and the staff of Eagle Valley for sharing their data, maps, and insights with us. If you would like to take a deeper dive into the travels of any of the eagles we’ve tracked, please visit our interactive maps at: https://www.raptorresource.org/learning-tools/eagle-map/