We hope you’ve got your feet up with some delicious Thanksgiving leftovers for tonight’s videos from Decorah and Decorah North! In Decorah, we get great looks at DM2 and a super fun look at Mom and DM2 at N1. While it appears they will nest at N2B instead of N1, they are taking some time to restore the teen pad! At Decorah North, Mr. North and DNF eject an unwelcome Thanksgiving guest and engage in some high speed aerial maneuvers. Bald eagles are among the latest of the fall migrators and many juveniles and subadults are on walkabout right now, making the North Superflyway a busy place!
Thanks to our camera operators for finding such special moments, to our video makers for sharing them, and to you for watching them! Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our special #GivingTuesday chat, and please send me your Decorah Eagle, Decorah North Eagle, GSB Falcons, and Flyway art so we can share it! My email address is [email protected].
Sweet eagle dreams, everyone!
Decorah Eagles
November 29, 2019: DM2 at N2B
11/29/19: Ultra close-ups – https://youtu.be/ZOXzzMQnzVs. Beautiful close-ups of DM2! Macro close-ups start around 2:29 and include excellent looks at his beak, cere (the fleshy, bulbous area above his beak), nictitating membrane (this can be seen in a number of places, but slow down at around 3:00 for one good look), and face. the camera backs out but goes in again at 6:46 to give us a look at DM2’s body, including his feathers (take a look at how the paler, older feathers are also more frayed along their tips), footpad, and long black talons. I also really liked the close-ups in the 10th minute. There are a few examples, but check out 10:19 for a very cool look at his beak. We can see how the lower mandible slots neatly into the upper and how his rictal ‘bristles’ – fine feathers that lack barbs – help him sense things near his eyes and beak. Watch the whole thing or skip through it to find your favorite parts!
11/29/19: Mom, DM2 on the maple, N1, N2B – https://youtu.be/KUjnCFyP0A8. A long video with some extremely cool scenes. It opens with both eagles on the maple. They soon flyout. Are they at N2B? No! Are they at N1? Yes! DM2 goes to the Y and Mom goes to N1. DM2 moves into N1 while Mom walks our farther along a branch. He eventually moves back to the Y and she continues to occupy her branch, which we get a super cool picture-in-picture look at. Mom enjoys a little self-spa preen time while DM2 sits sentinel on the Y. She flies out and he joins her at N2B. The video concludes with DM2 in a tree.
Note
The Decorah Eagles have built multiple nests in their territory. Dad and original mate built OM towards the back of the hatchery, near the bluff. Dad and Mom built N1 and N2. We built N2B in 2015 and the eagles adopted it. Dad disappeared in April of 2018 and Mom accepted DM2 in the fall of 2018. You can see a map of their territories on our website at https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/decorah-eagles/. Click ‘About the Eagles’ to see the nest map.
Decorah Eagles North
November 29, 2019: Intruder at Decorah North
11/28/19: Mr. North, a juvie, and DNF – https://youtu.be/rr_5JmJch98. Mr. North flies into the North nest with a juvinile eagle hot on his tail, determined to join in the Thanksgiving feast! We see some defensive (and extremely cool) mantles by Mr. North and hear vocals as he makes it very clear that the juvenile eagle is not invited! Mr. North repels it from the nest, although it doesn’t go epecially far. He vocalizes and erects his feathers, but begins feeding despite the juvenile’s presence. At 4:25, the camera operator gives us a nice look at the juvenile, who is calmly sitting on the pasture branch like it belongs there, whatever Mr. North thinks. Meal mostly done (it looks like there could be a few nestovers in the deep-freeze, but not much), he chases the juvenile eagle off at 6:32. DNF flies in at 6:38 to find the meal mostly gone, although she nibbles on some nestovers.
11/27/19: Intruder in nest area and chasing – https://youtu.be/mZlQy_J5KxA. Bald eagles – often among the latest of winter migrators at this latitude – are making the North Superflyway a busy place! We saw quite a chase here today! Beginning at 0:03, we get a double eagle flyby (I recommend slowing down the video to see it). Mr. North comes into the nest and vocalizes at about 13 seconds and we see a few more flybys by the intruder. Starting at 26 seconds, I think we see DNF chasing the intruder, although it was hard to tell for sure even with the video slowed down. These eagles are hauling tailfeather! DNF flies in and Mr. North flies out. She stands alert and vocalizes in the snowy, windy nest. Lizzy eaglespirit also has a nice version here: https://youtu.be/qxGY9LrZcuw.