Tonight’s Nestflix features videos from the Decorah Eagles, Decorah North Eagles, Mississippi Flyway Cam, and Great Spirit Bluff cameras. I liked all them, but especially loved the nest guard duty and close-ups in Decorah, this morning’s nestorations at Decorah North, and the vivid Red-Bellied Woodpecker at GSB. If you can only watch one video, make sure to check out the eagle buffet and coyote visitor on the Mississippi River Flyway Cam. This was fascinating for so many reasons – multiple eagles feeding at once, some great displays of eagle table manners, and a coyote who crossed the ice to take a look at dinner. We hope you enjoy the videos as much as we did, and thanks as always to our camera operators and video makers for finding and sharing such special moments with us!
Decorah Eagles
01/08/19: Nest guard duty, fit test – https://youtu.be/0P7USln_ew0. Nice fly-ins and fly-outs, nest guarding, and DM2 takes the nestbowl for a spin! It’s fascinating to me to watch DM2 as we add to our knowledge about instinctual and learned behaviors. I also enjoyed seeing how high and deep the nestbowl was piled. In addition to making me want to take a nap – the nest is never this nice when we are up working on cameras! – deep, multiple layers of soft, fluffy material will provide excellent insulation in rain or snow!
01/07/19: Sticky Monday – https://youtu.be/cPThPUUPVGE. The sticky fun starts at 1:19! I also recommend comparing the opening frame with the last frame to see what Mom and DM2 did. In addition to bringing in sticks, they shredded a lot of soft materials for the bottom of the nestbowl.
01/05/19: Nestorations & Closeups – https://youtu.be/BjzWT_b3-4o. Watch the whole video or go straight to 2:43 for some wonderful close ups of DM2! Better put that tail down – wind can raise havoc with an upraised tail!
Decorah North Eagles
01/08/18: Morning delight – https://youtu.be/K_mFIe1Fi8w. My first thought on this video – is this winter? My second thought – wow, look at that nest bowl! The eagles have built a lovely structure from the relatively flat starter nest we built for them. If you look closely, you’ll see a clear outer and inner ring, with high crib rails and a nice neat nest bowl. Look for some cool close-ups at 2:26, 3:17, and 6:05; some nest-cup work starting at 14:40, and some very cool perching at 15:55. I really enjoyed this video!
01/05/19: Afternoon bath for the eagles – https://youtu.be/2qVHh-j3n8g. Splish splash, it was time for a bath! Both eagles enjoy a dip on a relatively balmy January day.
Mississippi River Flyway
01/07/19: Breakfast Interactions – https://youtu.be/3SDR2rZahbI. A mixed age group of Bald Eagles vies for breakfish. Look for eagles running on ice and the fascinating sight of eagles feeding on a carcass together. While it isn’t all share and share-alike – the eagles bicker over table rights while they eat – there are several points where more than one eagle feeds at the same time.
01/07/18: Coyote hoping for some of the eagle’s breakfast – https://youtu.be/OWTp9l7B0Oc. And then the coyote showed up! After scaring the eagles away, it appeared to sniff at the carcass before trotting across the ice. While it watched from the background (check the video starting at 2:23), four eagles came back. Take a look starting at 3:46 for some very cool footage, and watch the eagles start to come back!
Great Spirit Bluff
01/08/17: Red-Bellied Woodpecker at Great Spirit Bluff – https://youtu.be/KvIvMi1v3_Q. Very cool footage of an adult male Red-Bellied Woodpecker hanging out at the the rock ledge diner! He appears to be picking at some left-over jerky left behind by Newman and Michelle!
The Raptor Resource Project