We’re happy to reach the weekend, happy to have the Decorah cam working again (thanks, John!), and looking forward to eggs and eaglets! Looking to save the date? In general:
- The FSV Eagles usually start laying eggs in mid-February. They laid their first egg on February 13 last year.
- The Decorah Eagles usually start laying eggs just a tiny bit later. Mom laid her first egg on February 22 last year.
- The Decorah North Eagles have been harder to predict, but DNF, who was new to the nest last year, laid her first egg on February 21.
Thanks to our camera operators, our video makers, our moderators, and to you for watching, learning, sharing, and caring!
Decorah Eagles
January 17, 2020: Mom and DM2 on the maple tree
1/17/20: Mom & DM2 On Maple-Snowing Again – https://youtu.be/1v9rgV0ArFk. Mom and DM2 perch together on the maple. It’s good to see them both on a snowy day in Decorah!
Decorah Eagles North
January 17, 2020: Mr. flies into the nest with a trout
1/17/2020: Mr North , the fish , DNF and chase – https://youtu.be/QUpPgxAYhtk. Mr. North comes into the nest with a juvenile or very dark subadult eagle hot on his tail and after fish! Continue watching and switch to slow-motion. Quoting Sherri: “(DNF is)…locked-in like a heat-seeking missile right behind in pursuit of the juvie. We always say that young raptors continue to learn lessons from other raptors in ‘outdoor school’ after their fledge from a home nest, and this is another fine example of the arsenal of flight maneuvers raptors skillfully employ to defend turf and provisions as we get closer to egg-laying time.” At 3:16, the camera zooms in on Mr. North, who is mantling and vocalizing over breakfish. At 5:25, he takes off and DNF flies in. She nibbles at some nestovers, but Mr. North didn’t leave much in the way of a meal! She flies off the babysitting branch at 9:09 and perches on a tree across the field. At 10:19, we see a classic food interaction on the North nest. Mr. North has fish and DNF wants it. He isn’t ready to give it up, but she takes it, wheedling and pleading as she does (10:28). Check 10:40 for a gorgeous view of both eagles. Mr. North leaves after loosing his fish and DNF enjoys a little fishie al freezie on the nest!
Odds and Ends
If you made it this far: we moved the Field Guide over to farmyou.com, a sister-site kindly donated by Ken Ries. I’m working on getting everything set up, but you can find it here: www.farmyou.com.
The Raptor Resource Project