Things are tough all over, but you – our volunteers, our watchers, our supporters, our friends – mean the world to us! Thank you for watching, caring, learning, and sharing! Spring is just around the corner, hatch is almost here, and migration is underway. Sweet Eagle Dreams and Big Eagle Hugs to everyone – we will get through this. And in the meantime, we have your NestFlix!
Decorah Eagles
March 15, 2020: DM2 in Decorah
Our Eagles – https://youtu.be/d5eRczd81QU. Long time watchers will remember this short, but if you haven’t seen it, check it out. I can’t love it enough and I think it is an amazing look at those of us who love the Decorah Eagles!
March 15, 2020: Shift change, close look at the eggs – https://youtu.be/uKW5xZbfUKk. Mom is sitting on the eggs when DM2 flies in for his shift change – and bearing a sticky gift for Mom! She gets up and flies off, and DM2 settles carefully over the eggs, shimmying into place. See the dark spots on the eggs? They are prey drips. It isn’t uncommon for Mom and DM2 to leave drips, drabs, and smears of breakfast behind!
March 15, 2020: Early morning – https://youtu.be/8E4FgXPGyNg.
This video from Blossem Holland includes the shift change but follows up with a lot more footage, including Mom on the new hatchery perch and preening on the Y-Branch at N1 (so wonderful to see, but especially check out the footage starting at around 8:09). We get DM2’s Billy Idol look at 11:40, followed by more – a lot more, and all of it beautiful! – until Mom comes in at 32:06. They switch over and at 32:41 we get to see the prey drip clearly.
March 13, 2020: Mom feather study – https://youtu.be/H-gzJAn-tXU. Wow! The camera operator catches every detail of Mom’s amazing feathers. We see how they tightly overlap one another to cover and protect her body, compare old feathers to new feathers, see secondaries and coverts versus primaries and, at 4:04, get a detailed look at the special feathers that cover her earholes. Amazing! #FantasticFeathers
Decorah North Eagles
March 15, 2020: DNF at Decorah North
March 15, 2020, Mr. Flies in with fish dinner for DNF – https://youtu.be/7-KMxcSKZAU. There is a lot to like in this video, but the first 20 seconds are my favorite! Mr. North does a fish flyby, handing his food gift right over to a ravenous DNF. She eagles it down (morning sushi is the best!), restocking her body with protein, fat, and especially the calcium she stores in her medullary bones: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep06253
Odds and Ends
The youngest egg in Decorah was laid 11 days ago. What’s going on? https://www.raptorresource.org/…/peek-inside-a-bald-eagle-…/
Sandhill Cranes are showing up on the Flyway Cam! Watch at https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/flyway-cam/ and learn more: https://farmyou.com/products/sandhill-crane-antigone-canadensis/
How trees talk to one another : https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other. We talk about birds – especially eagles – all of the time. But how do trees talk to one another?
I threw this video in because I love the music so much. I hope you like it as much as I do: https://youtu.be/pJKOaVjfHus.
The Raptor Resource Project