Photo and story by Glenn & Darlene Miller
We arrived in Decorah on June 22 and had no sightings of either Mom or DM2. It wasn’t until Tuesday, June 25 that we finally saw Mom and DM2 sitting on a dead tree far upstream west of N1 along Trout Run. It was great to see them together and especially to know that they are both continuing to stay in the area.
On June 27 they both were sighted again on the dead tree. DM2 went fishing in the stream below and brought a fish to the dead tree to eat. After eating the fish he flew out of sight and wasn’t seen for the rest of the day. Mom stayed perched for a while on the dead tree after DM2 left. All of a sudden, she took off from the dead tree and flew to and landed on the maple tree. It was obvious that the buffalo gnats/black flies were harassing her, as she shook her head frequently to shoo them away. She made an unsuccessful attempt to catch a fish from one of the pools at the end of the hatchery. Mom then flew into a tree along the west boundary of the hatchery grounds. Someone, unbeknownst to them, walked close to where she was perched which flushed her and she flew back to the dead tree. She perched there for a little while, then left and wasn’t seen again for the rest of the day.
*RRP greatly appreciates the photo and reminds you that it is © by Miller Photography and may not be downloaded without their express permission.
The Raptor Resource Project