We have NestFlix from Decorah North, Decorah, and the Mississippi Flyway. At Decorah North, DN13 and DN14 show off their newly gained flight skills and squabble over UFO jerky, a deer and her fawns cool off in the stream, and somebirdy fails to stick the landing! In Decorah, Mom keeps us guessing – is she reconsidering her move, or just taking a break from the family? either way, it was great to see and hear her again! The Mississippi Flyway is a busy place right now as sandhill cranes, red-winged blackbirds, egrets, great blue herons, and mallard ducklings forage and interact with one another.
Decorah North Eagles
July 6, 2021: DN13 and DN14 in the nest
July 5, 2021: Failed landing, ends up in the stream! https://youtu.be/AMItJfZZNPA. Landing and perching are both hard! Fortunately, eagles can swim.
July 5, 2021; Deer Mom and her two young ones visit the stream – https://youtu.be/hke0B5-HhhE. A family of deer cool off in the stream! The fawns are old enough to forage with Mom, but young enough that they still have spots. A lovely, peaceful scene!
July 4, 2021: Sibling love over some nestovers – https://youtu.be/2JQSKnKsAJ8. I really enjoyed the interaction between DN13 and DN14, although I’m not sure that love is the term I would use! The two squabble over ancient nestovers, DN13 trampolines a bit, and we get some eagle olympics at 2:53. This judge gives DN13 a ten for its excellent balance bean work!
July 4, 2021: DN13 and DN14 soaring – https://youtu.be/7VDewPB5wvE. The new fliers are slowly turning into skilled soarers! Watch closely, and you’ll see them working on balance and lift as they ride the air.
Decorah Eagles
July 5, 2021: Mom at N2B
July 6, 2021: Mom on N1 and on the Y-branch – https://youtu.be/Wd7xSQQ9jrM. Mom thrills us all with a quick visit! She is standing on one of the camera cables at the beginning of the video. The cable is low-voltage and covered with loom, a rubberized hose, and camo tape to keep the eagles from piercing it. Although Mom appears to be a little curious about it, it doesn’t appear to bother her.
July 6, 2021: Barred owl on N2B – https://youtu.be/EsJnjpcTja8. A barred owl checks out N2B, mantles (4:25), and leaves, all in almost complete silence. This is a stunning look at a very elusive bird!
July 5, 2021: Eagle vocals, a flyby and Mom with a fish on N2B – https://youtu.be/JkBEVgQTEVY. Mom keeps us guessing! I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed hearing and seeing her again. We also saw her over near N1 just this morning. It’s interesting to me that she is spending time here again, especially given that the N3 tree is dead. It is a good place to stay out of sight, especially with hungry fledglings on the wing. Still, I can’t help but hope that she’s reconsidering her decision to move.
Mississippi Flyway
June 28, 2021: Sandhill cranes on the Mississippi Flyway
July 3, 2021: Red-winged blackbird harassing cranes – https://youtu.be/gjcQmtgN-qc. RWB are about seven to nine inches long and weigh between one and three ounces. Sandhill cranes are about 47 inches long and weigh between seven and eleven pounds. Guess who wins?
July 3, 2021 – Dwie czaple (two herons) – https://youtu.be/5pyi-goLRNo. A wonderful look at a great blue heron, egret, and unknown turtle. I especially liked the footage at 31 seconds!
July 3, 2021: Ducklings having breakfast – https://youtu.be/frAHEcxMXhI. Make way for ducklings! Baby Mallards forage in the shallow waters just off the sandbar as they look for duckweed, sedges, invertebrates, and anything else they can get their beaks on.
June 28, 2021: Curious cranes checking out a turtle – https://youtu.be/W-yI235RmTQ. I couldn’t see what the cranes were looking at until 15:56 – long after the cranes had moved away. But I enjoyed watching their curiosity and interest. Cranes eat turtle eggs, so they might be especially interested the turtle’s location and activities. We can’t see the turtle very well, but my best guess is snapper based on size, shape, and location.
Odds and Ends
One of our camera operators sent me this story about a Steller’s sea eagle that was seen in Canada – and may also have been seen in Texas! https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/stellers-eagle-new-brunswick-bird-1.6086439
The Raptor Resource Project