What are we looking forward to this week? We are holding our first egg fundraiser on February 24, so hopefully we’ll have some eggs to celebrate! We’re not sure why DNF is so much later this year, but she and Mr. North showed up this afternoon and she’s perched near the nest as I write this. Talons crossed for today or tomorrow!
February 20, 2023: DNF near the North nest at 7:30 PM
Speaking of talons: HD’s toe is looking better, although we don’t know whether or not he will keep his talon. Eagles and other raptors can lose and regrow talons, and can also live without them, although we’re happy that he appears to be healing. When will HM lay eggs? We don’t know, but we are seeing and hearing copulation pretty regularly now that the two have gotten their groove on! HD spent the night of February 18 on the nest – very unusual behavior for an eagle that isn’t incubating, and doubly unusual for a male, since females almost always incubate at night. He appears to be more than ready for eggs and eaglets!
February 18, 2023: HD’s toe and talon.
I wondered if we were live or on highlights when I turned on my monitor and saw a Canada Goose on N2B on Sunday! Canada Geese sometimes reuse nesting spots, although we’ve also seen HD and HM perched near N2B as recently as today. While eagles were checking out the territory last year, we didn’t have a dedicated pair on site until after Mother Goose laid eggs. We’ll see if geese are still interested now that eagles are nesting just 700 feet or so away.
February 19, 2023: A Canada Goose on N2B!
Ma and Pa Junior have been keeping busy at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest. Ma began laying her first egg in early March after accepting Pa Junior as a mate in 2021. Fort St. Vrain is on our watch list for this week, although we don’t know how much earlier she’ll float in her third year of nesting with Pa. We’re also thrilled to be watching falcons at Xcel Energy’s King, Riverside, and High Bridge plants again! You can watch all of their birds – and help us get band numbers – here: https://birdcam.xcelenergy.com/Cams/ or on our website.
Come on, everybirdy – time to lay some eggs!
The Raptor Resource Project