Today’s diction-aerie word of the day: beddreagled, or an eagle’s raggedy, storm-blown look following bad weather. Mom and DM2 looked pretty beddreagled on N2B this morning as they nestorated and bonded! Mom also showed us her sticky obsession and Nest Depot purchases as the eagles made nest improvements. Egg-laying might be three months away, but it’s time to start getting the nursery ready now!
Thanks to our camera operators and videomakers for finding and sharing special moments in the nest; to you for watching, learning, and caring; and to april101 for the eagle heart image!
Decorah Eagles
November 19, 2019: Mom and DM2
11/19/19: Nestorations and bonding – https://youtu.be/7ecXcfkyW44. Mom and DM2 are looking somewhat bedreagled after a wet morning! The video starts with Mom in the nest. DM2 flies down from the Skywalk at :28 seconds and she supervises him pretty closely as he moves sticks around the nest. After she hop-flaps up to the Skywalk, DM2 fiddles with small materials before joining her at 4:09. Watch as Mom assumes a submissive or accepting position, indicating an interest in bonding, as DM2 approaches. Bonding occurs – successfully, it looks like! – at 4:20.
DM2 is a lot more comfortable with Mom this fall. After their first year together, he seems less intimidated by her and more comfortable with nest life overall. He has learned a lot about being a mate, a father, and an architect!
11/19/19: Mom does maintenance – https://youtu.be/w26AXcwSrMA. Mom gets busy on the nest! I’m not sure when the cornstalks were brought into the nest, but it is great to see them! Mom prunes some sticks, moves on a large stick at 4:35 (perhaps DM2 put it in the wrong place?), moves it back at 5:30 (perhaps DM2 put it in the right place?) and…no, hold on, that’s not right either! Mom continues to fiddle with her stick – moving it, pruning it, getting distracted by soft materials, and going back to it – until she finally seems satisfied with her decision about 13 minutes into the video. She briefly but effectively turns her attention to the cornstalks before hop-flapping up the Skywalk. I recommend comparing the nest at 1:46 and 16:40 to see how Mom gathered and concentrated the stalks to carpet the floor of N2B.
11/19/19: Mom close-ups – https://youtu.be/SQBgbZuN0Js. Just what the title says, and lovely to look at!
11/18/19: Mom closeups, both doing nestorations, Mom stick shopping – https://youtu.be/4HXEIHMtP1g. Nest Depot, here we come! There is a lot to like in this video, including nestorations throughout, stunning close-ups of Mom starting at 3:17, a nice view of N2B at around 5:44, DM2 at N1 (6:50 – and listen for the birds!), dual nestorations at 10:02, Mom on a perch at 16:39 (a cool shot with the holding pond behind it), and more of Mom’s stick obsession at the end of the video!
The Raptor Resource Project