2021 Memory Lane Moments

Some favorite moments from Decorah North, Decorah, Great Spirit Bluff, and the Mississippi Flyway. I had a really good time putting these together, although it was hard to pick and choose special moments! If you’d like to remember 2021, visit our youtube channel and select one of our playlists to watch videos from 2021 – or any other year we’ve collected: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoC_-rIBtLCzAl5l-834jZQ.

January 5, 2021: DNF at the North nest. It was a beautiful, balmy day, with temperatures topping out at right around 32F/0C: a warm January day for NE Iowa! After a busy morning of nestorations, DNF and Mr. North enjoyed soaking up the sun! https://youtu.be/YGHxQgnMY2E.January 5, 2021: DNF at the North nest. It was a beautiful, balmy day, with temperatures topping out at right around 32F/0C: a warm January day for NE Iowa! After a busy morning of nestorations, DNF and Mr. North enjoyed soaking up the sun! https://youtu.be/YGHxQgnMY2E.
January 4, 2021: A Merlin passed through the Valley of the Norths! We love our north nest neighbors and Super Flyway visitors, even if the North’s don’t always appreciate them! Merlin feeding and preening: https://youtu.be/4y0GhS1i6v4.January 4, 2021: A Merlin passed through the Valley of the Norths! We love our north nest neighbors and Super Flyway visitors, even if the North’s don’t always appreciate them! Merlin feeding and preening: https://youtu.be/4y0GhS1i6v4.
January 23, 2021: Red-bellied woodpeckers are a common visitor. The North woods are filled with oak trees. They provide wonderful habitat and plenty of food, but scraps of protein are always welcome! An eagle’s nest serves as nursery, pan-tree, and/or home for a wide variety of north nest neighbors. https://youtu.be/o02og-vq3Tk.January 23, 2021: Red-bellied woodpeckers are a common visitor. The North woods are filled with oak trees. They provide wonderful habitat and plenty of food, but scraps of protein are always welcome! An eagle’s nest serves as nursery, pan-tree, and/or home for a wide variety of north nest neighbors. https://youtu.be/o02og-vq3Tk.
February 8, 2021: I will never tire of cardinals in snow! What do they eat in the winter? According to Birds of the World, their winter diet is about 88% vegetable/fruit matter. Out here, that means multiflora fruit, grass seeds (including foxtail), seeds from feeders at local farms, and scraps of protein left by eagles, coyotes, and other meat-eaters. https://youtu.be/CK_Us1VYFC0.February 8, 2021: I will never tire of cardinals in snow! What do they eat in the winter? According to Birds of the World, their winter diet is about 88% vegetable/fruit matter. Out here, that means multiflora fruit, grass seeds (including foxtail), seeds from feeders at local farms, and scraps of protein left by eagles, coyotes, and other meat-eaters. https://youtu.be/CK_Us1VYFC0.
February 22, 2021: Mr. North incubates in snow. The winter was very mild overall, but February brought about two weeks of polar vortex and a big snowstorm! Fortunately, Mr. North and DNF are polar professionals! https://youtu.be/eSPDABFFOyc.February 22, 2021: Mr. North incubates in snow. The winter was very mild overall, but February brought about two weeks of polar vortex and a big snowstorm! Fortunately, Mr. North and DNF are polar professionals! https://youtu.be/eSPDABFFOyc.
March 8, 2021: Beneath the snow and ice, the slow pulse of life slumbers. As the cold recedes, ice and snow melt, the land quickens, and the great tide of birds begins to flow north. It’s a wonderful time to watch the Flyway! Flyway Follies: https://youtu.be/D5FZHty8Qj8. Bald eagles gathering on the Mississippi Flyway: https://youtu.be/FaVZmAmrlnw.March 8, 2021: Beneath the snow and ice, the slow pulse of life slumbers. As the cold recedes, ice and snow melt, the land quickens, and the great tide of birds begins to flow north. It’s a wonderful time to watch the Flyway! Flyway Follies: https://youtu.be/D5FZHty8Qj8. Bald eagles gathering on the Mississippi Flyway: https://youtu.be/FaVZmAmrlnw.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Raptor Resource Project! https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/03/17/happy-st-patricks-day-from-the-raptor-resource-project/Happy St. Patrick’s Day from the Raptor Resource Project! https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/03/17/happy-st-patricks-day-from-the-raptor-resource-project/
March 22, 2021: Two-year-old falcon Zooey wins Newman’s rose! See those brown feathers nestled among her beautiful slate plumage? She’s still molting her brown juvenile feathers.March 22, 2021: Two-year-old falcon Zooey wins Newman’s rose! See those brown feathers nestled among her beautiful slate plumage? She’s still molting her brown juvenile feathers.
March 24, 2021: A pip and a little beak at the North nest! https://youtu.be/6waCAjvouskMarch 24, 2021: A pip and a little beak at the North nest! https://youtu.be/6waCAjvousk
March 27, 2021: Feeding DN13 and DN14. I love to watch how tenderly eagle parents feed their hatchlings. DN13 and DN14 are already sitting up tall and beginning to reach for tiny bites! https://youtu.be/BloAemtH0MwMarch 27, 2021: Feeding DN13 and DN14. I love to watch how tenderly eagle parents feed their hatchlings. DN13 and DN14 are already sitting up tall and beginning to reach for tiny bites! https://youtu.be/BloAemtH0Mw
April 7, 2021: The eaglets are thirteen and eleven days old. Their grey thermal down is emerging in tracts, but their tiny talons are still clear. They slumber blissfully in their warm, cozy nest without a care in the world. “In the deep spring when the grass was green on fields and foothills, when the lupines and poppies made a splendid blue and gold earth, when the great trees awakened in yellow-green young leaves, then there was no more lovely place in the world.” ― John Steinbeck, The Wayward BusApril 7, 2021: The eaglets are thirteen and eleven days old. Their grey thermal down is emerging in tracts, but their tiny talons are still clear. They slumber blissfully in their warm, cozy nest without a care in the world. “In the deep spring when the grass was green on fields and foothills, when the lupines and poppies made a splendid blue and gold earth, when the great trees awakened in yellow-green young leaves, then there was no more lovely place in the world.” ― John Steinbeck, The Wayward Bus
April 13, 2021: Sibling competition is common in the first few weeks of life. As long as there is plenty of food, it usually subsides about the time that the eaglets get strong enough for bonks to really hurt! As you can see from the two cropzillas, food is not a problem at the North nest! Eaglets sometimes bite off more than they can chew. It’s a good thing that Mr. North was there to save the day! https://youtu.be/XvR4i72eZVwApril 13, 2021: Sibling competition is common in the first few weeks of life. As long as there is plenty of food, it usually subsides about the time that the eaglets get strong enough for bonks to really hurt! As you can see from the two cropzillas, food is not a problem at the North nest! Eaglets sometimes bite off more than they can chew. It’s a good thing that Mr. North was there to save the day! https://youtu.be/XvR4i72eZVw
April 18, 2021: Peek-a-boo, eye see you! The eaglets spend most of their time eating, gaining weight, and sleeping. But their personalities are beginning to show and eaglet antics are always fun to watch! Almost at the same time (and look who’s standing on their feet!): https://youtu.be/5K_2sreeetU.April 18, 2021: Peek-a-boo, eye see you! The eaglets spend most of their time eating, gaining weight, and sleeping. But their personalities are beginning to show and eaglet antics are always fun to watch! Almost at the same time (and look who’s standing on their feet!): https://youtu.be/5K_2sreeetU.
April 21, 2021: Clown clompers and taupe talons! Check out the talon to our left (the eaglet’s right). An eagle’s second talon is shorter than the other three and ridged to help groom away dander, dirt, and parasites. Their wings and feet are growing so fast! https://youtu.be/pko2xLSgDB8.April 21, 2021: Clown clompers and taupe talons! Check out the talon to our left (the eaglet’s right). An eagle’s second talon is shorter than the other three and ridged to help groom away dander, dirt, and parasites. Their wings and feet are growing so fast! https://youtu.be/pko2xLSgDB8.
May 30, 2021: Commemorating Memorial Day: https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/05/30/commemorating-memorial-day/May 30, 2021: Commemorating Memorial Day: https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/05/30/commemorating-memorial-day/
June 23, 2021: Mom, it’s wonderful to see you! Everyone missed the Decorah eagles following their move to a new nest behind the Decorah Walmart. We treasured Robin’s reports and glimpses like this one: https://youtu.be/GKGPrrRszOs.June 23, 2021: Mom, it’s wonderful to see you! Everyone missed the Decorah eagles following their move to a new nest behind the Decorah Walmart. We treasured Robin’s reports and glimpses like this one: https://youtu.be/GKGPrrRszOs.
June 27, 2021: Would DN14 ever fledge? I’m sure I wasn’t the only one wondering! DN13 fledged at 78 days of age and DN14 fledged at 83 days of age. Male eagles usually fledge earlier than their sisters. DN13 could have been a male or a female, but DN14 was a female! Some fans referred to her as DNF’s ‘mini-me’ while others remarked on her similarity to D1/E2 from 2011. Remember one of the eaglets meeting one of the residents of the pasture: https://youtu.be/gJ8rDHq8mIQ.June 27, 2021: Would DN14 ever fledge? I’m sure I wasn’t the only one wondering! DN13 fledged at 78 days of age and DN14 fledged at 83 days of age. Male eagles usually fledge earlier than their sisters. DN13 could have been a male or a female, but DN14 was a female! Some fans referred to her as DNF’s ‘mini-me’ while others remarked on her similarity to D1/E2 from 2011. Remember one of the eaglets meeting one of the residents of the pasture: https://youtu.be/gJ8rDHq8mIQ.
Celebrating the 4th of July: https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/07/04/happy-4th-of-july/Celebrating the 4th of July: https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/07/04/happy-4th-of-july/
July 22, 2021: Chance the Raptor did not get off to an easy start in life! First-time mother Zooey didn’t understand how to feed her nestlings and was a nervous shuffler to boot! The poor little falcon was rubbed pink and covered with hippoboscid excrement when we went to treat her for ectoparasites on June 10th. But she survived and even thrived as Zooey dialed in feeding. We were thrilled to see her fledge! https://youtu.be/PwRvXfd5UeQ.July 22, 2021: Chance the Raptor did not get off to an easy start in life! First-time mother Zooey didn’t understand how to feed her nestlings and was a nervous shuffler to boot! The poor little falcon was rubbed pink and covered with hippoboscid excrement when we went to treat her for ectoparasites on June 10th. But she survived and even thrived as Zooey dialed in feeding. We were thrilled to see her fledge! https://youtu.be/PwRvXfd5UeQ.
July 23, 2021: Knock-knock! Who’s there? A Northern Saw-Whet Owl! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/overviewJuly 23, 2021: Knock-knock! Who’s there? A Northern Saw-Whet Owl! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Saw-whet_Owl/overview
August 1 & 2, 2021: Robin Brumm’s Day Trips kept us up-to-date with the Decorah Eagle family! Follow this link to read them all! https://www.raptorresource.org/tag/day-trip/.August 1 & 2, 2021: Robin Brumm’s Day Trips kept us up-to-date with the Decorah Eagle family! Follow this link to read them all! https://www.raptorresource.org/tag/day-trip/.
August 1 & 2, 2021: Would D37, D38, or D39 follow Mom and DM2 to the hatchery? Brett Mandernack found that the eaglets didn’t tend to fly more than a mile from their natal nest during the first 30 days or so post-fledge. I think that’s where Mom and DM2 snuck away to hide from their ravenous young this year!August 1 & 2, 2021: Would D37, D38, or D39 follow Mom and DM2 to the hatchery? Brett Mandernack found that the eaglets didn’t tend to fly more than a mile from their natal nest during the first 30 days or so post-fledge. I think that’s where Mom and DM2 snuck away to hide from their ravenous young this year!
October 10, 2021: Mr. North eats dinner near the North nest. We saw them bring the first stick into the nest on October 20.October 10, 2021: Mr. North eats dinner near the North nest. We saw them bring the first stick into the nest on October 20.
October 27, 2021: A Turkey Vulture at Great Spirit Bluff. We believe that they are nesting in some potholes near the nest box, but this is the first time we’ve seen one so close. It may have been attracted to stashed prey: https://youtu.be/9vRJ_ua8F4w.October 27, 2021: A Turkey Vulture at Great Spirit Bluff. We believe that they are nesting in some potholes near the nest box, but this is the first time we’ve seen one so close. It may have been attracted to stashed prey: https://youtu.be/9vRJ_ua8F4w.
November 1, 2021: A juvenile Northern Goshawk near the North nest! ID points include a distinctive white ‘eyebrow’, the streaked breast, and the relatively large legs compared to other accipiters. Northern Goshawks take size 6-7B bands, Cooper’s hawks take size 4-6 bands, and Sharp-Shinned hawks – the flyweights of the group! – take size 2-3 bands.November 1, 2021: A juvenile Northern Goshawk near the North nest! ID points include a distinctive white ‘eyebrow’, the streaked breast, and the relatively large legs compared to other accipiters. Northern Goshawks take size 6-7B bands, Cooper’s hawks take size 4-6 bands, and Sharp-Shinned hawks – the flyweights of the group! – take size 2-3 bands.
October 31, 2021: Happy Halloween! Have a boo-tiful day and a bewitching night! Trick or treat? Birds do both! https://www.raptorresource.org/2019/10/30/birds-in-superstition-and-folklore/October 31, 2021: Happy Halloween! Have a boo-tiful day and a bewitching night! Trick or treat? Birds do both! https://www.raptorresource.org/2019/10/30/birds-in-superstition-and-folklore/
https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/11/24/happy-thanksgiving-2/https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/11/24/happy-thanksgiving-2/
November 5, 2021: DNF and Mr. North: https://youtu.be/xqtKfRyOY0g. ““Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.”November 5, 2021: DNF and Mr. North: https://youtu.be/xqtKfRyOY0g. ““Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.”
December 9, 2021: It’s always thrilling to see and hear the arrival of tundra swans – the heralds of winter – on the Flyway. Follow for four Flyway foraging stories! https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/10/29/four-foraging-stories-from-the-flyway/December 9, 2021: It’s always thrilling to see and hear the arrival of tundra swans – the heralds of winter – on the Flyway. Follow for four Flyway foraging stories! https://www.raptorresource.org/2021/10/29/four-foraging-stories-from-the-flyway/
December 11, 2021: The great cycle of the year is coming to an end and the Flyway is slowing down as the river finally begins to ice over to the north. But this little Eastern Screech Owl will remain active all winter long! Listen for owls in January and February: https://youtu.be/oGVLUaJSurg.December 11, 2021: The great cycle of the year is coming to an end and the Flyway is slowing down as the river finally begins to ice over to the north. But this little Eastern Screech Owl will remain active all winter long! Listen for owls in January and February: https://youtu.be/oGVLUaJSurg.
Happy Holidays from the Raptor Resource Project! May your days be merry and bright!Happy Holidays from the Raptor Resource Project! May your days be merry and bright!

Related posts:

  1. Memory Lane 2021: D37, D38, and D39
  2. 2021 Memory Lane Moment: Mom and DM2 do it again!
  3. Memory Lane 2021: Mr. North and DNF care for DN13
  4. Memory Lane 2021: The Bachelor, Great Spirit Bluff edition
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