Raptor Resource Project: Bald Eagle and Bird of Prey Cams

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Monthly Archives: April 2019

April 30, 2019: News and Nestflix!

April 30, 2019 RaptorResource

Rain, rain go away! While the eaglets’ thermal down helps keep them warm, it doesn’t shed water very well. This was obvious today as the eaglets cuddle-puddled (in Decorah) and snuggled under Poptent and Mombrella (in Decorah and at Decorah North). We’ve had a few questions from watchers who are worried about development in what seems like an unending season of storms, drizzle, mist, and the dreaded ‘wintry mix’. Are the eaglets spending too much time under their parents to

April 29, 2019: Nestflix and News

April 29, 2019 RaptorResource

We’ve got your Nestflix from Decorah and the kestrel nestbox! I liked all of these videos, but don’t miss Mom covering the eaglets with grasses, D32’s enormous pellet, the Sibling Sunday and Eaglet antics videos, and the kestrel shift change. While we still see some dominance interactions, the eaglets are also busy playing with nest materials, preening, watching one another and their parents, and tracking objects in and around the nest. They aren’t standing yet, but their footpads and tarsi

April 25, 2019: Nestflix and News!

April 25, 2019 RaptorResource

When were our adorable fluffy hatchlings replaced by big grey dinosaurs? In their third week of life, D32 and D33 are changing rapidly. Their footpads are expanding and turning yellow, their talons have turned taupe (thanks, Robin and Sherri!), their pinfeathers are just starting to come in, and they’ve gone from fluffy white to woolly grey. When weather permits, they’ve also started to shuffle around and explore the nest, play with nest materials, and wreak havoc on our hearts as

Eagle maps: D27 phones home!

April 25, 2019 RaptorResource

Thanks for the postcard, D27! D27 is not far from Rossville, Iowa, on a tributary of the Yellow River. It’s an area with plenty of food, folded hills for thermal soaring, and trees for perching and shelter. We’ll see if she follows the Yellow northeast to the Mississippi or strikes back to Decorah before heading north on her summer migration! I got curious about what the month of April looked like in 2018. The two years are pretty similar, although

April 23, 2019: Panting, Flies, and Decorah North Nestflix!

April 23, 2019 RaptorResource

We’re getting a lot of questions about flies and panting this week! Although the weather has warmed, leaves have not yet unfurled to shade our nests. While it may not seem hot to human watchers, the eaglets are in direct sunlight and their woolly thermal down is better at keeping them warm than cooling them off. Our sweat glands secrete water on to the surface of our skin. When it evaporates, we cool down. Since birds don’t have sweat glands,

April 22, 2019: Decorah Eagles Nestflix!

April 22, 2019 RaptorResource

We have your Decorah Eagles Nestflix! Sorry about the late post – we’re getting ready to go out on the rain-swollen Mississippi tomorrow and I didn’t have a chance to get anything together earlier today. These videos provide a great look at just how much the eaglets are growing, with bulgy crops, wet eaglets, a little stick fiddling, and a nice look at DM2 on the Y! Enjoy! Decorah Eagles 4/22/19: Close ups wet eaglets and Mombrella – https://youtu.be/Firh1dbmEcE. We

April 18, 2019: News and Nestflix!

April 18, 2019 RaptorResource

News We have yet another new egg – this time at the kestrel nest box! We had just turned the camera on this morning when she went into egg layer and quickly delivered egg number one. She should lay three to four more eggs, usually a day apart, until she completes the clutch. We may her on the eggs once in a while, but she won’t go into full incubation until the penultimate egg is laid – very similar to

Your questions, answered: What’s in a name?

April 17, 2019 RaptorResource

What are we calling the eagles at our nests? In Decorah, the eagles are Mom and DM2 At Decorah North, the eagles are Mr. North and DNF Perhaps the number one question you’ve asked us this year touches on what we’re calling the eagles. Why aren’t we calling DM2 Dad, or Dad2, or Mr. Decorah, or anything else more name-like? Who came up with DNF – ugh, we hate that! Why not Mom and Dad, or Mr. and Mrs. North?

April 15th, 2019: Nestflix and news!

April 15, 2019 RaptorResource

Whatta day, as Sherri Elliott used to say! The eaglets at both Decorah nests are growing like weeds, eating like piglets, sprouting clown clompers, and beginning to take cues not just from parents, but from the wider world around them. I loved all of these videos, but I especially enjoyed DN9 flapping its tiny wings, cowghetti for lunch, and an attempted tandem feeding by Mom and DM2. We cannot thank the camera operators and video makers enough for sharing these

April 14, 2019: Nestflix and news!

April 14, 2019 RaptorResource

Here comes the sun! We are so happy to have a lovely day with sunshine and well-fed eaglets, although D32 had all of us really worried this morning when it ended up trapped between crib rails after briefly sticking to Mom during a nest exit. Per the video, D32 made its way out of the sticky situation and is enjoying the warm weather and sunshine with D33, while DN9 is so full that DNF didn’t feed the little cropzilla when

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