Where are 27 and D36? D27 sent us a postcard from Spillville, IA and D36 checked in from the Cedar River near Waterloo! We asked Brett about their travel patterns – if you check out D27’s map especially, you’ll see that she’s been pretty sedentary since arriving in the Spillville area on January 9. She hasn’t traveled farther than 2.2 miles and most of her flights have been considerably shorter than that. In extremely cold weather, eagles will hold tight to an area if they have a good nighttime roost and protected daytime perches.
Spillville sits in a shallow river valley which becomes much steeper just south and east of town: a perfect place to roost out of the wind, with plenty of places to find food! We’re really curious about D27’s activities this spring. She turns five years old on April 1. Will she decide to settle down and raise a family, or wander around for a few more years? We’ll find out soon!
January 31, 2022: D27’s current range near Spillville, Iowa
D36 is sticking close to the Cedar River south of Waterloo, Iowa – about 61 miles south of his natal nest. This is the second year in a row he visited this stretch of the Cedar. We’ll see if he wanders even further south, like he did last year! Followers told me this is a great place to see eagles, which means that D36 has plenty of company!
Thanks for the postcards, eagles! Stay safe and don’t forget to write! If you’d like to explore the travels of any of the eagles we’ve tracked, visit 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 maps, knowledge, and expertise!
The Raptor Resource Project