Unwind, relax, and chill with videos from Decorah North, Decorah, and Great Spirit Bluff! I liked all of these videos, but I especially enjoyed the two eagles playing at Decorah North (five days into 2021 and I already have a candidate for next December’s top ten list!), the interaction between three adults in Decorah, and the beautiful eagles and coyotes at GSB. Thanks so much to our camera operators for finding such special moments, our videomakers for sharing them, and you for watching, learning, and caring.
Decorah North Eagles
December 31, 2020: Mr. North (left) and DNF (right). DNF is signaling an interest in copulation by lowering her head, tipping forward, and hunching her shoulders.
December 31, 2020: 2 visitors playing – https://youtu.be/GfniVsVr2Fo. The video opens with a subadult and juvenile eagle together on the banks of the North stream. The juvenile eagle appears to be having a great time in the snow as it tromps, jumps, and grabs a stick to play with! At 2:55, the subadult charges the juvenile and takes the stick…this new Christmas toy is the best! The juvenile flies off at 6:40 and we see the subadult eagle perched in a tree across the stream at 7:11. It takes off at 7:46 as another eagle, presumably one of the North adults, arrives.
December 30, 2020: At home with the Norths! https://youtu.be/aRy5bQsKOso. Snow has covered the North nestorations! The two eagles are busy shoveling out: moving sticks, digging, trampling snow, and shredding corn husks to cover the nest with a carpet of soft insulation. I love the tail-to-tail housework at 4:11 and the two together on the love branch at 6:18. Although they don’t copulate, notice that DNF is clearly expressing interest by dipping forward, shrugging, and vocalizing. This is a great look at how much larger female eagles are: DNF looks like she’s wearing a puffy down jacket next to smaller Mr. North!
Decorah Eagles
December 31, 2020: Mom and DM2 on hatchery rock in Decorah.
December 31, 2020: Postcard views, Red and Kentucky Boone – https://youtu.be/TTEA2bEHhvU. We get great views of horses Red and Kentucky Boone (Red is the reddish horse, Kentucky Boone has a grey and white cloudlike pattern) until 5:54, when the camera operator treats us to postcard views from N1,
December 31, 2020: Winter Snow Scape, Mom & DM2 Watch Deer on New Year’s Eve – https://youtu.be/rI-tCKs8Lus. From chickiedee: “This is a beautiful nest tour of the snow blanketed landscape. We see Mom & DM2 perched together and right underneath them on the ground you will see deer moving. Happy New Year to our beloved Decorah eagles and RRP and to the chat moderators, the cam operator volunteers, and to all who make this happen, because of your dedication we get to see nature at its finest.”
December 30, 2020: Mom, DM2, & 3rd BE activity – https://youtu.be/VQxDNYUkmRE. The video opens with Mom perched near hatchery rock. She flies off and an eagle fishes the retention pond beginning at 35 seconds. Another eagle flies in behind/east of her at 39 seconds. Look up at 58 seconds and you’ll see that a third eagle has appeared in the sky above the lower two! At 1:23, we cut to the Skywalk, with a three adult eagle interaction (slow down to see it). The three-eagle interaction continues through the rest of the video. You can see a shorter version here: https://youtu.be/NralsdDJpqw.
Will a new eagle couple adopt N2B if Mom and DM2 have moved? It appears that other eagles are interested in it, although Mom and DM2 don’t appear to be inclined to share their territory and, judging from their behavior, they still consider the fish hatchery to be theirs. We’ll see where all this goes!
Great Spirit Bluff
December 31, 2020: Two coyotes on the forested slopes of Great Spirit Bluff
December 31, 2020: Eagles perching, coyotes awake – https://youtu.be/OpnKTRegZhA. Watch coyotes and bald eagles in this beautiful video from the slopes of Great Spirit Bluff!
The Raptor Resource Project