We have your night-time NestFlix! At Decorah North, DNF and Mr. North are busy with nestorations. Nest-building is a big part of pair bonding, but Mr. North wasn’t quite ready to give up his fish to DNF this morning – or welcome visitors to the North nest. On the Flyway, two American white pelicans photobomb five adult bald eagles! Look for bufflehead ducks in the background.
Thank you so much for watching, sharing, learning, and especially for caring! I hope you enjoy these videos as much as we did. There was an unbelievable amount of waterfowl on the Flyway this morning and we hope to share that tomorrow!
Decorah North Eagles
November 9, 2021: DNF at the North Nest
November 9, 2021: Visitors and the Norths – https://youtu.be/WsaH8ou8MbM. The video opens with Mr. North giving a subadult eagle the boot! It doesn’t appear to have worked, since we see two subadults at 1:16! Mr. North flies into the nest at 2:04 and DNF joins him at 2:14. We get some lovely close-ups as the two dig and move soft materials. The video continues with a series of jumps to show nestorations, including a green grass delivery at 3:33, stick work immediately following, and sticky decisions in the fifth minute. Look for some beautiful sunbathing towards the end!
DNF and Mr. North brought six sticks and got busy today for the first time in the 2021/22 season! Why are they busy with nestorations and copulation now, three months before they lay eggs? https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/11/09/getting-ready-fall-nestorations/
November 8, 2021: Dark-eyed Junco – https://youtu.be/bbZr20JbTXI. Winter is coming! A dark-eyed junco perches alertly on an oak branch. This little bird probably bred in the far north and has migrated south ahead of winter’s ice and snow. You can learn more about them here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/id. If you follow the link, check out the very cool-looking Oregon variant!
November 7, 2021: Mr. North brought a Fish and DNF takes the fish – https://youtu.be/Ftjh6NWXCig. Mr. North flies into the North nest with a fish firmly clasped in his talons. DNF flies in, hot on his tail, and a game of fish tag begins! He mantles over it and makes it clear that he doesn’t want to share, but she won’t take ‘My fish!’ for an answer. Once she wins the prize, she wastes no time in eagling it down, swallowing chunks as fast as she can tear them off! She hops up the babysitting branch after breakfast is done and we get some nice close-ups.
Mississippi Flyway
November 9, 2021: The trees of Eagle Island looked like Christmas trees…if bald eagles were Christmas ornaments!
November 8, 2021: Five adult eagles, pelican photobomb – https://youtu.be/fQAC9hKa8KE. There is one in every crowd! Five adult eagles hang out in shallow water near a sandbar as ducks come and go (look for the Bufflehead behind them). At 1:56, two pelicans fly in! One swims by quickly, while the other waits until 3:31 to join the eagle party! Another one joins it at 3:58. Like eagle baths? Go to 4:36 to see two eagles dipping, wiggling, and splish-splashing!
The Raptor Resource Project