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Monthly Archives: April 2020

April 30, 2020: Raptor Movie Marathon and News from the Nests!

April 30, 2020 RaptorResource

It’s your raptor movie marathon! We had a milestone moment at the North Nest earlier this week: DN12 stood on its feet for the first time on Tuesday, April 28! This is an important developmental step that will change nest life, exploration, and poop shoots as we know them. Look out below! In Decorah, Mom raises the crib rails, DM2 really wants to feed the eaglets, and we get a nice look at the not-so-tiny triple threat! The bonking is

When will we be able to tell the sex of the eaglets?

April 28, 2020 RaptorResource

TLDR: We won’t, but read on to learn why!When will we be able to tell the sex of the eaglets? We get asked this question every year. While most of us make private guesses, we don’t make them official – in no small part because we’ve been wrong before! Keep in mind that age is a bigger factor than sex in weight gain and size early in nest life. Sexual dimorphism begins to appear in some variables after about 20

April 27, 2020: Nest news and raptor movie marathon!

April 27, 2020 RaptorResource

Happy Monday, everyone! Put your feet up and grab some snacks – we’ve got your raptor movie marathon and nest news now! Let’s start with some quick catch-up. As of today, D34 and D35 turn 22 days old and little D36 turns 19 days old, while not-so-little DN12 at the North nest turns 28 days old. The tiny terror-dactyls are casting pellets, sprouting pinfeathers, testing not-so-tiny wingflaps, and tarsi-shuffling around their nests. While they can’t yet tear their own meals,

April 23, 2020: News and NestFlix!

April 23, 2020 RaptorResource

DM2 put his flying fishwagon into high gear yesterday, delivering eight fish to Mom’s two. D36 is not only getting enough to eat, it’s a wonder that any of the eaglets can sit up at all! Sherri and Robin documented fish deliveries as follows: 9:01am (Mom), 12:45pm, 1:34pm, 2:00pm, 6:23pm (Mom), and in rapid succession: 7:07pm, 7:40pm, 745pm, 7:53pm, and 7:59pm. Right now, the eaglets are shedding their natal down, hitting the maximum growth period for footpads and legs, and

April 21, 2020: NestFlix and News!

April 21, 2020 RaptorResource

Where did our itty-bitty eeeaglets go? It’s been just 16 days since the first hatch at the Decorah nest and 21 days since DN12 hatched at the North North Nest, and in that time we’ve seen the eaglets go from about 3.2 ounces and three inches long to almost a foot long and weighing between four and five pounds! It sometimes seems like we can see them growing as eagle parents pour on the Miracle-Gro, feeding fish after fish after

April 19, 2020: Nest round-up and Nestflix!

April 19, 2020 RaptorResource

We have your Monday morning mega-roll Nestflix! First, a nest round-up: the Decorah eaglets turn 14, 14, and 11 days old today, DN12 turns 20, the American Kestrels have four eggs, Nova and Newman have three eggs, and you should check out Explore’s Mississippi Flyway gallery if you need to catch up on the birds we have been seeing there (or just need some birds)! I loved all of these videos, but I especially enjoyed the interaction between Mom and

Why don’t Mom and DM2 DO something about all of those beak-bonking battles?

April 17, 2020 RaptorResource

One of the most common questions we’re getting right now is something along the lines of ‘Why don’t Mom and DM2 DO something about all of those beak-bonking battles?‘ We recognize that eagle parents are bonded to their children, so why don’t they stop potentially harmful behavior? It’s umwelt time, so let’s put our eagle heads on and think through the question! Competition is an important part of eagle ‘society’, but eagles also need to surrender food to hungry mates

Decorah Eagles: Week One

April 15, 2020 RaptorResource

We tried to capture a few highlights of D36’s first week for everyone to enjoy! While D34, D35, and D36 ate, beak-bickered, and grew, Mom and DM2 hauled in fish after fish in their flying fish carts, chased away intruders, and kept little mouths stuffed. Did you notice Mom and DM2’s high sits and shimmy squashes? The eaglets are busy down poking, prodding, and popping down in the Romper Room beneath their brooding parents! See the woolly down patterning on

Eagle D27 checks in!

April 15, 2020 RaptorResource

D27 sent us an airmail! The barely-three-year-old eaglet is still spending time near the Decorah area, although she should be departing for her summer range in the next 20 days or so. She is working her foraging areas on the Upper Iowa and Trout Rivers and appears to be doing a good job of feeding up for her long migration north. I got curious about what her winters looked like. In 2018, D27’s first dispersal year, she wandered quite widely

April 13, 2020: Nest round-up and Nestflix

April 13, 2020 RaptorResource

As promised earlier today, we have your nest roundup and Nestflix megaroll from Decorah, Decorah North, Great Spirit Bluff, and the Wisconsin Kestrels! The kestrels are back online and graced us with their first egg on Easter Sunday. I’ll take the Easter American Kestrel over the Easter Bunny any day of the year! A huge thanks to everyone for all the love you showed during our hatch celebration last Saturday! It was wonderful to gather with you and we deeply

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