Tonight’s Nestflix features the Decorah Eagles and the Great Spirit bluff falcons! We’ve got a mini rain dance, two moist fowlettes, a fish down the hatch (after an assist from Mom), and a quick feeding video from Great Spirit Bluff as well as a repost of the owl from last night. Fans of Mom do not want to miss the stunningly beautiful video of her sunbathing in Decorah. We’re glad to see hard-working Mom get a little spa time for herself!
Thanks to our camera operators and videomakers for finding and sharing special moments in all of our nests! I hope everyone enjoys these videos as much as I did!
Decorah Eagles
5/16/19: A rainy morning – https://youtu.be/EyeSZZI9meI. Our little eaglets are so big – standing, wingercizing, and rain dancing! I also loved how D32 (left) and D33 (right) cuddled with one another and against Mom to shelter from the rain and stay dry (2:03)! A little gentle nibbling starts at 2:43 and we get close-ups around 3:12. This is an extremely cute video – although what is Mom watching in the background? The eaglets seem to notice how intent she is at about 5:45 or so, and check things out before turning their attention back to one another. DM2 comes in with something around 7:42. Note that it looks kind of degraded (9:46) and he appears to fly up from below, not across the pond. I’m kind of wondering if he found it on the ground – maybe the remains of a fledged fish? Look for a fantastic tail close-up starting at 12:06!
5/15/19: Stunning Mom – https://youtu.be/AzNlauCQhn8. Fans of Mom will love this! An amazing look at an amazing Mom! See her heraldic pose? This helps expose her underparts to air and sunlight, which kills parasites, may help straighten feathers, and probably feels pretty good, too!
5/14/19: DM2 eating fish and not sharing and Mom came in – https://youtu.be/n4M5HYo0zYA. DM2 decides to eat all the breakfish himself! Despite their swollen crops, the eaglets are watching with a great deal of interest, with both of them lining up for a bite. Rather than share, DM2 turns away from the eaglets to make sure he gets all the the fish! As the camera position changes, we see Mom watching from the Skywalk. She flies in at about 4:18 and puts on the teakettle. DM2 leaves and she feeds the eaglets!
5/14/19: Reappearing fish tail at Decorah Eagles – https://youtu.be/JfW1mrsG0Sk. The reappearing fish tail starts at 6:21 and it is hilarious but also pretty interesting! D33 can’t quite get the fishtail down. Mom steps in and takes the fish away at 6:30 (note that it appears sideways in D33’s beak – a potential problem, since the fish can’t be swallowed tail first). D33 gets it down just fine the second time under Mom’s eagle-eyed gaze!
Great Spirit Bluff Falcons
6/16/19: Newman brings lunch – https://youtu.be/lAcCZQMuMe0. This video shows one of the things I love about falcons. We think of them as acrobatic flyers, not balance-beam walkers, but they are great at that, too! Michelle hops out of the nestbox, walks along the perch branch, and grabs breakfast from Newman. She carries it in her beak back to her waiting hatchlings. Note how carefully she steps out, with her wings held high? Her actions help keep young from accidentally being swept out of the nest box as she leaves. Michelle has a lot of experiencing caring for young and we see that in everything she does!
5/16/19: We already posted this, but I wanted to include it for people who didn’t see it! Michelle defends her nestbox from a Great Horned Owl: https://youtu.be/BIlwXXUG1Tw! To really see it, slow the speed down to .25X and start watching at 27 seconds.
The Raptor Resource Project