It’s been a busy few days for everybirdy! We have eggs at Decorah North, Fort St. Vrain, and Trempealeau; an ever-changing group of female falcons trying to catch Newman’s attention (Lisa has so far chased them all off); Canada Geese looking at N1 (HM says absolutely not), and falcons showing up at every site we watch. I’m still trying to get band numbers at our sites, so please give me an email if you get one!
We’re estimating hatch in Decorah North on March 23, at Fort St. Vrain on April 10, and at Trempealeau on April 4, although those dates could all be a little earlier or a little later! We don’t know when we’ll get our first egg at GSB, or even who’s going to lay it, but we usually see eggs around the end of March or the beginning of April. The geese laid their first egg last year on March 21, but they’ve been active pretty early in this year of (almost) no winter. We’ll see if they lay early this year.
Thanks so much for all of your support on Saturday: we had a great deal of fun and I always enjoy a chance to chat and hang out! We couldn’t do what we do without your help.
Decorah North Eagles
March 3, 2024: DNF at the North Nest. Staying warm is not an issue this year, but staying cool sure is! Since eagles don’t have sweat glands and the need to incubate limits sprawling, they pant to cool down.
March 3, 2024: Mr. brings corn stalk, DNF takes off – https://youtu.be/8AP5-krmdr0?si=Y-dTm1nm80nrCZ4R. I love Mister’s gift, which he deposits partially on DNF’s back! He moves it off her, but not before she grabs the end and twists it. She slowly and carefully gets up from the eggs, giving us a cool look at her covert and adult down feathers, and flies off, leaving Mr. to begin his shift.
Normally someone asks us how eagles keep eggs warm through an Iowa February. That topic hasn’t really come up this year, but I decided to post about the brood patch regardless. It’s more than just a patch of bare skin! https://www.raptorresource.org/2024/03/04/what-is-a-brood-patch/.
A handsome male Ring-necked Pheasant near the North nest. I’m not sure this is a very safe place to strut your stuff, my friend!
March 2, 2024: Male Ring-necked pheasant – https://youtu.be/pvQrn320BsU?si=TUPlJlqBY-55oPOM. This might not be the safest location to display, but what a handsome bird!
March 1, 2024: A clockwork shift change in real time – https://youtu.be/djoDDr7lWz0?si=gTPz6cQGOKj4BoNh. What can we say? Mr. North and DNF are pros! Wonderful close-ups of DNF start at 57 seconds.
March 3, 2024: Mr. North rolls the eggs.
Trempealeau Eagles
March 1, 2024: Mrs. T in protective mode and a look at the eggs – https://youtu.be/2OLZ9JYjTw8?si=et31PfSqWphaBN_X. We hear something nearby not long after the video starts and Mrs. T. goes into protective mode at 20 seconds. A squirrel, perhaps, or maybe an unknown eagle soaring by? As she mantles over her eggs, the wind begins to pick up. It really begins blowing at about 2:50 and she stands up at 3:10, giving us a look at her eggs. She begins fine-tuning the nest at 5:27: fascinating, because eagles usually push material in, but she seems to be digging it out! I thought she might be tuning it to gain a little comfort for her brood patch and belly, or to change something around for the eggs. But when she shimmies back over them at 8:04, she isn’t facing the spot she worked on.
Decorah Eagles and Geese
March 4, 2024: HM’s disapproval has not stopped geese from checking out N1! There are also geese at N2B.
March 4, 2024: The geese on N1. Close-ups and a bowl – https://youtu.be/MFeSsjQWu8Q?si=0AvVSCZWicOyeE8Q. A really lovely look at some geese who seems determined to nest in N1 despite HM’s disapproval. Listen carefully to hear some low vocalizations from the geese and the lovely sound of rain. Even though HM does not approve, as she males clear here! https://youtu.be/HCbB3ZUH248?si=gCI34Bnw2BBFKAWN.
March 3, 2024: HM on the Y-Branch. She’s not nesting here this year, but she doesn’t seem interested in letting geese have it, either!
March 3, 2024: HM to the Y-Branch – https://youtu.be/SxAhpTfkzH0?si=m1o086I62vN9wBOR. Sorry, Geese, but N1 is not for sale or rent! HM doesn’t care about N2B, but she doesn’t want geese on her former and perhaps future nest! I loved the vocalizations in the first minute of this video: everybirdy, including HM, has a lot to say!
Great Spirit Bluff
March 3, 2024: Newman delivers Red-winged Blackbird for breakfast – https://youtu.be/5EvUNOBetew?si=-6iL-G1gOMhXcXLC. Newman speaks Lisa’s love language with a gift of food! He flies in chupping at seven seconds, the bird clutched in his talons. She flies in, grabs it, and takes off!
March 3, 2024: Lisa flies in to chase Hope E/60 away. It was fascinating, but I’m glad that Hope left instead of fighting.
March 3, 3024: Banded Female Hope E/60 and Lisa chases her off – https://youtu.be/hNsJw6LNVuc?si=qpZKR8wSfXDB4xtd. The video opens with Newman courting a new female who stopped by to check his digs out. At 3:08, Lisa flies in and chases her from the box! She continues to make her displeasure clear even after Hope leaves. At 5:21, Newman flies in for a wild aerial copulation.
Falcons have three basic calls: the chup, a call usually associated with courtship and feeding that can also be antagonistic; the wail, a ‘Get your butt over here!’ call made between mates that also serves as a warning, and the kek, the sound they make immediately before and while attacking. But they clearly make other sounds, too. Lisa appears to be chewing Hope out and staking her claim to the nestbox with body language and vocalizations that don’t fit the three common calls. Neither does her soft chittering during the copulation that follows. I’m crossing my fingers and looking forward to her vocal interaction with eggs and babies.
March 1, 2024: Newman showing us why all the ladies love him! Lisa has staked a claim, but she’s had to chase off a few female falcons to do it!
The Raptor Resource Project