We know it is late February, but it really feels like spring has sprung! We’ve got eagles on eggs at the North nest and our new Trempealeau eagle cam, we’re eagerly awaiting eggs at Xcel Energy’s Fort St. Vrain nest, female falcons are lining up for Newman’s food gifts at GSB, the ice is entirely out on the Flyway, and we’re seeing and hearing spring arrivals everywhere! We’re also getting ready for our First Egg Fundraiser on March 2, chatting at the North nest, and getting our education chatroom cleaned up and ready for students! There is never a dull moment when it comes to birds of prey.
If you’d like to check out our new Trempealeau Eagle Cam, visit https://www.raptorresource.org/trempealeau-eagles/. Mrs. T is currently on one egg and will likely lay another late tomorrow or sometime on Wednesday.
And now, your NestFlix! I enjoyed all of these videos, but I especially liked Mr. North bringing DNF a food gift and taking his turn at incubation. DNF will always get up for fish and I loved her soft vocalizations. Food is truly the quickest way to win an eagle’s heart!
Decorah North Eagles
February 25, 2024: A brief glimpse of the North eggs nestled within the warm, cozy egg cup.
February 26, 2024: Beautiful ring necked pheasant male – https://youtu.be/oyw9T16ii0k?si=Mk0q91_G-yUtj3Ev. A beautiful male ring-necked pheasant appears below the nest. While bald eagles will happily eat pheasants, this one is (somewhat) protected by brush and multiflora rose. Breeding generally begins in March, although this pheasant doesn’t appear to be displaying. We’ll see if he attracts a harem – usually 10 female pheasants or more – in March.
February 26, 2024: A handsome male Ring-necked Pheasant near the North nest.
February 26, 2024: Together time on the nest – https://youtu.be/EuEjg08ttyk?si=WjRr80YVI_-t7D_c. It’s always nice to see Mr. North and DNF on the nest together! He flies in and begins arranging soft materials while she incubates. The two pause to pay attention to something that caught their eyes, but Mr. North eventually returns to nestorations, stepping around DNF and brushing her with his tail at 4:13. Does she appreciate the sunshade? At 4:36, she gets up after a soft vocalization and flies off. The camera operator zooms in, but the eggs are deeply concealed. Mr. North settles in for his shift, leading with a classic shimmy and rearranging materials to make sure everything is just right! Fortunately, we got a lovely look at DNF and her eggs on February 24: https://youtu.be/ECigYlnt0aI?si=CoGQ6ruyGAwOp5MK.
February 26, 2024: Handsome Mr. North incubating eggs.
February 26, 2024: The handsome Mr. North – https://youtu.be/q9eYndFzKrM?si=MKQiodCQAuSvPltU. Exactly as the title says…almost 18 minutes of Mr. North close-ups! A wonderful look at a very handsome eagle.
February 26, 2024: It was a very warm day. Eagles can’t sweat, so DNF pants to lose heat.
February 24, 2024: Mr North brings a fish to DNF and gets himself eggtime – https://youtu.be/G5U0WRVNoXM?si=NDNiMHfG1AOxFiSs. We’ve seen DNF ignoring Mr. North when she doesn’t feel like getting up from her comfortable bark-a-lounger, but that doesn’t happen when he brings fish! He drops his gift in the nest and DNF moves in as Mr. North settles over the eggs. I love her soft vocalizations and his gentleness with the eggs.
Decorah Eagles
February 24, 2024: HD reuses, reduces, and recycles old nest material!
February 24, 2024: HM comes to the Y, takes nesting from N1 – https://youtu.be/rAkSDxZFgy0?si=WLKrO_V3k-0bguzG. Mr. HM reduces, reuses, and recycles with materials he gleaned from N1. It’s wonderful to see him, even briefly, on the Y.
Great Spirit Bluff
Banded Female Falcon H/34 Kandiyohi, a 2021 hatch from Red Wing Grain.
February 26, 2024: Banded Female Falcon H/34 Kandiyohi – https://youtu.be/RJYZeEJrd7c?si=71-Zo_qw81ahtLpB. This is really interesting. As usual, female falcons are lining up – flying up? – for Newman. But H/34 was seen at the Dubuque Courthouse just a few days ago: roughly 98 miles away as the falcon flies! Lisa was also spotted here today. We’ll see who shows up here tomorrow!
The Raptor Resource Project