Grab the popcorn and sit back for some Nestflix (and a link to an article about our peregrine banding work)! We’re starting to see less of D34, D35, D36, and DN12 now that all four tween-eagles have discovered the wonder of flight, but the Flyway is busy – and getting busier – as birds and other animals begin preparing for fall. I liked all of these videos, but it was nice to see Mom and DM2 getting a little personal perching time on the maple, Mom’s heraldic pose, the incredible response of the Norths to a young intruder, and of course the mallard family that we posted on Facebook yesterday. I hope you enjoy these videos as much as we did!
Why and how do we band peregrine falcons? https://www.waukonstandard.com/articles/2020/07/15/going-%E2%80%9Cover-edge%E2%80%9D-help-facilitate-comeback-peregrine-falcons-mississippi-river
Decorah Eagles
July 30: D36 at N2B
July 29, 2020: DM2 joins Mom for conversation on the maple – https://youtu.be/0mUgCCaz430. DM2 and Mom enjoy some personal time on the maple! I’m not sure what they are talking about, but at least they aren’t fleeing hungry eaglets! This is also a great look at just how much bigger Mom is than DM2.
July 26, 2020: DM2 on the pine, D36 on the Y – https://youtu.be/kw19abmo4DM. There isn’t a whole lot of action going on, but the video is too pretty not to share! Watch all the way through or go to 2:36 to see D36 on the Y-Branch.
July 24, 2020: https://youtu.be/kw19abmo4DM – https://youtu.be/IofGocx0E2k. Mom welcomed us to ATF with a beautiful sun or heraldic pose! Airing out/sunning her feathers helps kill parasites and may aid in straightening hard to reach little body and back feathers. It looks beautiful and probably feels pretty good, too! Go to 1:25 to see her extend her wings.
Decorah North Eagles
July 30, 2020: DN12 at Decorah North
July 30, 2020: DN12 Away from Home Adventure Day 50 – https://youtu.be/8t0zdC0Er30. Another one of EagleSpirit’s great ‘Away From Home’ series, this video has beautiful close-up footage of DN12 starting in the 19th minute.
July 26, 2020: Sub-adult steals a prey – https://youtu.be/RLUolxL8jo4. Perhaps this is why Mr. North and DNF were so persistent about chasing a young eagle away! DN12 is on the nest. It searches for nestovers and perches on the babysitting branch before flying off as we hear vocalizations at 5:20. It passes another eagle without interacting. That eagle flies to the nest, where we see it is a sub-adult! It grabs what appears to be a prey item and flies out. DN12 comes back.
July 23, 2020: The Norths vs Young Eagle – https://youtu.be/WPzLXQJlfu0/. This was quite interesting to me. Eagles are very territorial, but they tend to be a little more accepting of juveniles and adults, and their territoriality is often at an ebb once the eaglets have left. In fact, we’ve seen the Norths perching with juveniles and sub-adults across the stream. This visitor is not nearly as welcome! To see the altercation in slow-motion, go to 3:37 – and note that both Norths are fully engaged. I wish we could see the intruder a little more closely.
Mississippi Flyway
July 30, 2020: Make Way For Ducklings! Mallard ducklings on the Flyway
July 29, 2020: Great white egrets fishing – https://youtu.be/pko15rXW6Fk. This is a cool video – it is early morning and quite dark, but not too dark to see color. Great white egrets silently stalk their prey, moving stealthily in the dim light.
July 21, 2020: Mallard family – https://youtu.be/rYrea4QVvPc. Make way for ducklings! The opening four minutes of this video are unbelievably cute as the little mallards preen together on a log.
The Raptor Resource Project