We have your NestFlix from Decorah North and Great Spirit Bluff! I liked all of these videos, but I loved the North Nest bath time with both eagles – I’ve already got a number two favorite video this year! – and Mr. North’s tree trimming. If you want to see bald eagles, don’t miss the eagle icecapades at Great Spirit Bluff. How many eagles can you count? I counted well over twenty on the ice!
Thank you so much to our camera operators, video makers, and to all of you! I hope you enjoy these videos as much as we did.
Decorah North Eagles
January 14, 2021: DNF and Mr. North on the North nest
January 14, 2021: Thursday Morning Nestorations – https://youtu.be/anDYylf6odo. This is a long video with a lot of wonderful nestorations, but I really wanted to point out the behavior at 20:55. Mr. North has landed on a pasture branch. He begins breaking off and removing small sticks from a favorite perching spot, working hard as he twists, tugs, and snaps them. This is a great look at one of the ways eagles influence their environments. They don’t like their favorite perches to brush up, so they keep them trimmed! Nice job, Mr. North!
January 13, 2021: Afternoon visit and some food – https://youtu.be/iLkEAArv0ps. The North nest looks so warm and cozy that I wouldn’t mind taking a nap – minus the nestovers! We see both Norths in the nest starting at around 3:29. DNF finds an old leg (squirrel or rabbit, perhaps). While she eats her nestovers, Mr. North works on the nest, digging with his beak to loosen and fluff up the substrate. We get some nice closeups of DNF starting at around 6:05 as she expertly slices and pulls every last bit of protein from her old bone.
January 12, 2021: The Norths Together Splish Splash – https://youtu.be/tZChVk7EVqw. The Norths have started their own synchronized swim team! This glimpse into their lives is really, really cool – I love how they bathe together, at times seeming to synchronize their movements as they clean their feathers and enjoy a refreshing dip! At the end of the 8th minute, they fly to separate perches and strike sun/heraldic poses as they bring each feather into tip-top shape!
Great Spirit Bluff
January 14, 2021: Eagles at Lock and Dam Seven on Lake Onalaska, Mississippi River
January 14, 2021: Bald Eagles fishing on Lake Onalaska – https://youtu.be/8TaVW1OLmYE. How many Bald Eagles can you count? During the winter, Bald Eagles congregate on open water, including the locks and dams of the Mississippi River! The river offers excellent opportunities for fishing, scavenging fish carcasses, and practicing eagle table manners: stealing, hissing, chasing, and mantling, to name a few! I speeded the middle section of this video up and couldn’t believe how the eagles resembled swallows after insects! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!