What are we looking forward to/eggcited about this week? We’re watching for HM, HD, Mr. North, and DNF to shift their focus from sticks to soft materials as they move into the final stages of nest bowl prep and egg cup construction. We should also see and hear more of them as copulation ramps up and HM and DNF’s ‘egg factories’ kick into high gear! How long does it take an eagle to lay an egg? We’ve got more information here: https://www.raptorresource.org/2020/01/29/how-long-does-it-take-a-bald-eagle-to-lay-an-egg/. We’re just nine days out from the 16th – the date that DNF laid egg #1 in 2020 and 2021!
This video by GA Bear gives us a nice look at HM and HD shredding and arranging husks and stalks. In a snowy winter, it’s a constant battle for bald eagles to stay ahead of the snow as they trample, scrape, and cover each drift with new layers of whatever soft materials they have on hand. Cornhusks and stalks are plentiful at both Decorah nests, but at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest, the eagles bring in grasses and reeds. Their adaptability – what biologist Louis Lefebvre referred to as innovativeness – serves them well as they ready North America’s largest nests for eggs and young.
The Raptor Resource Project