Time for Nestflix and chill! Eagles at both Decorah nests seem to be making up for lost time. While the North eagles and Mom Decorah were all seen on their respective territories, we really didn’t see them visiting their nests. That has changed! The eagles won’t start spending most of their time at the nest until just before egg-laying, which usually happens in mid-February. You are most likely to see them at the nest at dawn or at dusk – although as these videos show, they may show up for lunch.
Viewers sometimes worry when a male eagle doesn’t hand food over to a female. Is this a bad sign for the future of their relationship? It could be if he never provided food, but it isn’t uncommon for male eagles to sometimes keep prey for themselves, especially this time of the year. All of our eagles are on territory and we’re looking forward to seeing more of them!
Decorah Eagles
October 16, 2019: Unknown Male Eagle, N2B, Decorah
10/16/19: Mom and Friend – https://youtu.be/Qdi1igyIgbg and Mom Begs~Male Companion Brings Prey to Nest – https://youtu.be/i0llZPkuK1I. Two eagles fly into N2B, both vocalizing! The unknown male flies into the nest and Mom flies into a branch above him. Mom screes and the unknown male mantles. At 3:13, we find out he has food in his talons! He flies up and joins her on the branch, food still in his talons. Mom softly wheedles, but he doesn’t want to share lunch! The camera operator treats us to some nice close-ups at 7:56, although we don’t get a good look at his iris. He continues to eat. Mom flies off at 9:58, perhaps to get her own meal! The video ends with more close-ups of the unknown male eating what appears to be squirrel.
10/16/19: Somebirdy Having Lunch On SkyWalk – https://youtu.be/ZfqCL4cOn8E. Somebirdy flies onto the Skywalk for a little al fresco lunch. Watch the whole video or skip to 4:12 for a nice look at the unknown male!
Decorah Eagles North
October 16, 2019: DNF at Decorah North
10/16/19: Close-ups of DNF – https://youtu.be/UOAMJOoOm4I. Just what the video title says – wonderful close-ups of DNF, with great looks at her feathers (her paler feathers are older), her face, her head (the mark appears to be prey remains), her feet, and her talons. A beautiful portrait of a beautiful eagle!
10/16/19: Lunch and nestorations – https://youtu.be/XgTm-9_rwMc. Fantastic looks at Mr. North, DNF, and fall foliage. DNF arrives at the nest and preens. At 5:19, we see Mr. North over on a branch eating something, although we can’t quite see what it is. At 9:38, he flies across the field (she is still on the tree) and over to the stream. We get some more really nice looks at DNF before he joins her in the nest. I love the view at 18:04 – it gives us a wonderful look at just how much larger she is! We get some really nice looks at both of them in the nest before they perch together on the babysitting branch. He flies off and she stays!
Thanks to our camera operators for finding special moments like these (and for working so hard on ID!), our video makers for sharing them, and to Teresa Inman and Robert Frisone for tonight’s photos!
The Raptor Resource Project