Story by Robin Brumm
The last time I went to Decorah was for part of the After The Fledge celebration, but I didn’t see Mom or DM2 while I was there. I recently saw RRP’s post that said the N3 tree had fallen in a storm, so I wanted to go to Decorah to see if Mom and DM2 were hanging around the area. Sunday morning, I got up at dark o’clock and headed off to Decorah.
I got to Decorah and drove through the hatchery area but did not see anybirdy there. For some reason my car always goes to the hatchery first thing when I get to Decorah, lol. Since there were no sightings at the hatchery, I headed over to Walmart and the N3 area. I walked down the trail to where I could see the nest area. Wow, it sure looks different without the nest and nest tree! I looked to the right of where the nest tree had been and there was an eagle on the perch tree! I grabbed my binoculars and looked a little closer. It looked like it was DM2. I took a picture and looked at it on my camera. I zoomed in and it did look like DM2! I settled in my lawn chair to wait to see if Mom would show up. While I waited, DM2 just perched there, occasionally looking down into the river below him. I’m sure he was waiting for a good looking fish for dinner, but he stayed perched and did not fly off, so apparently one did not swim by while I was watching. I sat along the trail watching DM2 for about 3 ½ hours and during that time, Mom never showed up.
Finally, I decided to go to the hatchery to see if I could find HD (Hatchery Dad) & HM (Hatchery Mom). I checked the camera and noticed they were both on the Y branch. When I got to the hatchery, I got out and walked over toward the N1 tree. They were both still there, but it was very hard to see them. I was able to see HM from a few spots, but there are so many leaves and branches that block the view from the Kiosk area. I really had to search to find HD behind the leaves. After a few minutes, one flew off and then the other followed. They circled up into the sky to the west of N1. They soared in lazy circles higher and higher, and even did a talon grab or two, but they were so high I wasn’t able to get any pictures. Finally they soared off to the south west and out of sight. I waited for a while but nobirdy showed up, so I decided it was time to leave. There is no photo attached to this post, because, unfortunately, just as I was leaving Decorah, I had a camera mishap and lost all my photos from my day trip. I guess that gives me a good excuse to go back soon!
Amy’s note: the photo used to illustrate Robin’s story is one she took earlier this year.
The Raptor Resource Project