Where are D27 and D36? D27 flew back to the Decorah area following a very short visit to Canada in July and August. After spending a month or so near Decorah, she moved about 16 miles south to Postville: not far from Eagle Road north of Clermont! The area is incised with small tributaries of the Turkey River and filled with feedlot operations. She appears to have plenty of food and we’re sure she has plenty of company…which appears to have included D36!
D27 and D36 on October 26, 2021
D36 left western Ontario in mid-September and stopped in east central Minnesota for about a month before coming back to northeast Iowa. The two eagles were tracked to within 89 feet of one another on October 26 and stayed in the same area for about four days. D27 remained, but D36 traveled southeast to the Big Spring area northwest of Elkader, about 12 miles away. D1, Four, and D27 also checked this area out, although none of them but D1 spent much time here.
D27 and D36 on November 4, 2021
I thought it might be interesting to explore a cluster map, so I included one with this post. This map shows every return we’ve posted from our eagles and allows us to see, in the aggregate, where they spend their time. I was quite surprised to learn that east central Minnesota – my neck of the woods! – is quite popular with migrating eagles. I also liked comparing our three northern travelers – D1, D27, and D36 (female, female, male) – and taking a look at everyone’s wintering grounds. We started this study to find out where our eagles went, but we’ve learned an awful lot about what they need in the process. You can follow all of the eagles we’ve tracked by going to our interactive maps at https://www.raptorresource.org/learning-tools/eagle-map/. A thousand thanks to Brett Mandernack and the staff of Eagle Valley for sharing their data, maps, and expertise!
Eagle cluster map: D1, D14, Four, D24, D25, D35, and D36
The Raptor Resource Project