Put your feet up, grab your very favorite snacks and beverages, and sink into the couch, chair, or bed for a mega-roll from Decorah, Decorah North, and the Flyway! I loved all of these videos, but don’t miss Mom’s intense stick work and ultra close-ups, the merry mice, and…forget it, I loved all of these videos! Thanks so much to our camera operators for finding such special moments, our video makers for sharing them, and to you for watching and caring. Happy Fri-yay, everyone!
Decorah Eagles
November 22, 2019: Mom and DM2
11/22/19: Pretty morning sky, discussions, teamwork – https://youtu.be/QWkx3YNDZYA. From chickiedee: “DM2 Follows Mom to the Nest and helps place her stick. DM2 eventually flies off to the Maple Tree. A short while later Mon returns to the nest and is later joined by DM2. They have a little discussion and do a little more nest work. Then Mom goes to the Maple Tree. DM2 joins her there. Mom returns again to the nest where she continues her stick work and then flies off again.” There’s a lot to like about this video, but I really loved the muted colors and early morning light. Mom and DM2 live in a beautiful world!
11/21/19: Mom’s intense stick work – https://youtu.be/lGHvBn1NSAg. Talk about Nest Improvement! I love seeing the corn husks in the nest and, if you take a look around 7:07, you can see what great construction material they are – excellently insulating while molding tightly to the bottom of the nest, creating a better-than-Tyvek nest wrap to protect the eggs to come. Mom flies in at 7:11 with a very wonky stick (slow down to see it) and spends a lot of time getting it to go where she wants! She nibbles it, holds it with her foot at 10:57 to try to break it (check also 11:04), and engages in general stick-capades while DM2 looks on. At 11:38, she puts her back and wings into moving it! DM2 is more than willing to leave this puzzle stick up to Mom!
11/19/19: Stick weaving, ultra close-ups: https://youtu.be/U_cxUUbD2Do. The ultra close-ups start at 7:37 with a look at Mom’s feet. We get a wonderful look at her preening her feathers, digging deep to straighten them and remove dirt and parasites. I especially enjoyed the footage around 9:21, when we get to see her overlapping back feathers! Birds are in a clade with reptiles and her lovely short feathers remind me of scales. Don’t miss the flying adult fuzz, the bumps or spicules on her feet and the lovely color where her tail joins her body…or just enjoy Mom’s contentment as she gets in a little spa time! Her fly-out at 13:02 is also extremely cool.
11/19/19: A nest full of mice! https://youtu.be/T1qgnXpQAqQ. I got a lot of emails about all of the mice in the nest on the night of the 19th! Enjoy this wonderful look at them foraging for food and nest materials. We tend to see a lot of mice in the nest this time of the year. Why? Mom and DM2 are bringing nesting materials and eating in the nest, but they aren’t occupying it 24×7. The merry mice live in the nest’s basement and are more than happy to filch food and nesting materials from their upstairs neighbors. The risk that Mom and DM2 will eat them is more than worth the reward of food, bedding, and lodging in a place safe from enthusiastic mouse hunters like owls and cats!
Decorah North Eagles
November 22, 2019: DNF and Mr. North
11/22/19: Recap with the Norths – https://youtu.be/hoqZ1zS3p0o. Thanks to Lizzy Eaglespirit for the recap, which is great!
6:48am: DNF arrives with grass
6:50am: Mr North arrives with more grass
6:55am: Mr North takes off
6:57am: DNF takes off to the left to try to break a branch
7:38am: DNF dives for breakfast
7:42am: Mr North arrrives at the nest
7:52am: DNF takes off and comes back with a leafy stick
8:01am: DNF take off to love branch
And do not miss DNF testing the nest bowl at around 43 seconds! It’s much more common to see male eagles build and test the nest bowl, but it was very fun to see her working on the bowl and gently pecking Mr. North in the nest not long after that. I really, really enjoyed watching this look at an eagle couple that seem so fiercely and tenderly bonded to one another.
11/21/19: Catching a fish – https://youtu.be/h5TRWiKKg3g. It’s hard to see the DNF at first, but look up in the trees over the stream. At about 31, she dives into the stream, lands with a splash, and swims with her prey to the bank of the stream! I enjoyed the whole video, but the way she worked the wind, splashed, and swam was extremely cool!
11/19/19: Afternoon love – https://youtu.be/xdr98hokHDA. Mr. North and DNF take some afternoon delight! All joking aside, we are very happy to see Mr. North and DNF bonding: a good reminder that eagles, much like people, copulate for reasons outside of reproduction, including pleasure and cementing their bond.
Flyway Cam
November 22, 2019: Juvenile eagle on the Flyway cam
11/22/19: Subadult and adult – https://youtu.be/jlizwstY7sw. An adult and subadult spend time together. Their reflections are mirrored in the still water. So one of the things that watchers at the Flyway cam love is a chance to see eagles away from a territory. They compete, but they can also be social, amenable, and perhaps (at times) cooperative. Not much happens in this video other than two eagles of different ages hanging out, but I watched and enjoyed it it more than once!
The Raptor Resource Project