Before we get into tonight’s Nestflix, I wanted to let everyone know that we’re waiting for our first falcons to hatch at Dairyland Power Genoa! We thought today might be the day, but we haven’t seen hatch yet. You can watch here: https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/dairyland-power-falcon-cams/ and here: http://www.dairylandpower.com/content/bird-cam. We also fixed the Flyway cam yesterday, so feel welcome to stop by for sunsets, sunrises, and migrating waterfowl! The river is still pretty high, so we aren’t seeing some of the regulars we’re accustomed to. We should see them once the river starts falling and exposes more feeding and nesting grounds.
Tonight’s video round-up stars the Decorah Eagles! Look for cropzillas so big they are dragging on the ground, allopreening (I love allopreening!), and plushie-tushie tailfeathers on D32! D32 is 30 days old and D33 is 27 days old.
Decorah Eagles
5/3/19: DM 2 arrives with large fish and Mom takes over to feed the kids –
https://youtu.be/In7yE979bgM. This is the time of year when followers sometimes worry that Mom no longer likes her mate. She tends to put on the teakettle uuntil he hands over the foot and skedaddles out of the nest! While it may look alarming to us, this is very normal behavior for bald eagles. Mom (and DM2’s) hormonal regimes have changed quite a bit since egg-laying began back in February, and their behavior reflects this!
5/3/19: Pin feather closeups, a look at 32’s new tail feathers –
https://youtu.be/6nmmcfo2jVA. Great close-ups and a nice look at D32’s plushie-tushie tail feathers! Check the footage at 4:07 – I love the larger and smaller unfurling feathers right next to one another. A very cool video!
5/2/19: Eaglets Having Some Fun With Cornhusk –
https://youtu.be/UMPqpTlxV8s. It’s time to play house! The eaglets enjoy playing with a cornhusk! D33 starts by picking it up (look at me!). D33 drops it and D32 takes over. D33 tries to get it back around 1:20, but D32 isn’t having any part of it!
5/1/19: 3:45 pm Allopreening, D33 troublemaker –
https://youtu.be/GtIqg6rXdnw. I love the opening of the video. Both eaglets appear focused on something outside the nest. But I really loved the allopreening starting at :31 seconds. D33 grooms D32, picking through its fuzz and straightening its feathers! After some allopreening and self-grooming, the two lay down, although they keep watching something outside the nest. At 2:12, a house sparrow flies by. At 3:29, a brief beak battle breaks out, followed by more preening and allopreening, and a bold nest visitor filching materials from the nest. I really enjoyed the eaglets hanging out, cuddling, and preening. Siblings make the very best pillows!
5/1/19: Tandem feeding –
https://youtu.be/JVV1fGJSqoo. Sometimes Mom insists on feeding the kids herself, but sometimes DM2 joins in. I loved the view of Mom’s back geathers at the beginning of the video. You can see that a tandem feeding is happening, but we don’t see DM2 until about 4:04. At 5:50, we see that D32 is so full its crop is literally dragging on the nest! It’s hard to believe the eaglets can fit any more food in!