You are sharing your comments and concerns about the decline in the amount of time that Mom and DM2 are spending on the N2B nest. We have seen Mom and DM2 on cam and in person at the hatchery in the past week, so why aren’t they as active in the nest area? We don’t know. As time passes, we will get an answer, but at this time all we can do is monitor their movements and let them show us what is going on. We have been answering questions from Decorah Eagle fans and recently some media outlets and want to issue two clarifications to recent reports:
Clarification #1
The Decorah Eagles are not missing. We haven’t seen them working on N2B since November 21, but we saw a nest flyby on December 1, Mom perching in a tree near the hatchery cliff on December 2 and Mom hunting over the hatchery pond on the same day. The last was seen by Amy, who was in Decorah to pick up the ‘In-hand Guide To North American Diurnal Raptors’ and watch activities at the hatchery for a few hours. Mom was flying too high for our cameras to see, but she was there.
Clarification #2:
It’s never a guarantee that the eagles will come back to their nest, but it is more likely than not. Mom and Dad moved from N1 to N2 back in 2012. We located their new nest in around October 21st of that year and wrote about it here: https://raptorresource.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-decorah-eagles-have-surprised-us.html. Nest construction was already well underway by October 26. That we’ve seen locally and through our cameras, Mom and DM2 don’t appear to be building a new nest. They aren’t focusing their activities on any one area and no one has seen them collecting/snapping sticks and branches – both things we would expect to see if they were constructing a new nest. Note that we wouldn’t look for nest activity after dark – the eagles are roosting, not in the nest or working on the nest.
So where are we now? On Eagle Time and crossing our talons! We really can’t do anything other than follow and watch Mom and DM2, who are around the hatchery even if we aren’t seeing them on camera. We’ll continue to monitor their activities and post what we find. Our camera operators have been treating us to some incredible scenery, but if you’d like to watch eagles, check out the Decorah North Nest. Mom and DNF have been busy with nestorations and we’ve seen some fascinating wildlife interactions after dark. Thank you so much for your support and dedication! Please feel welcome to join us on the Confusion Couch once again!
The Raptor Resource Project