The wind blew and the rain and snow flew, but DNF and Mr. North fed the eaglet crew! The terrific two ate nine times today so far, including a dual feeding by Mr. North (DN18) and DNF (DN17). The P’s shielded their eaglets from the wind and snow and got food in them quickly before Mombrella settled them under her warm feathers. This winter has felt like one long April Fool’s joke, with the punchline ending – we hope? – on April 1st. In like a lamb, out like a lion!
April 2, 2024: A snowy shift change. This reminds me of the care Mom and Dad took with their eaglets, who stayed safe and warm in the worst spring weather.
Look for grey down tracts to emerge on DN17 and DN18 this week (you can peep them starting to pop now), eaglets to hatch in Trempealeau this week (April 4 is our best guess), more peregrine falcon eggs (will Newman attract an adult female falcon?), more goose drama (as the Cottonwood Sways? More like Eggs of Our Lives!), and our hatch fundraiser on April 6th. Sometimes we have favorite videos, but all of these are great. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!
April 2, 2024: A snowy feeding. See the grey down tracts emerging from the fluffy white natal down!
Decorah North Eagles
April 2, 2024: 8:20 am Rainy day, DNF feeds & snuggles them back down – https://youtu.be/72IKzzhnxN8?si=gs3LfFQaEzn_2lSV. It was a messy day in Decorah as rain followed snow, followed by rain, followed by more snow. But Mr. North kept the pantree stocked and DNF stuffed hungry little mouths with tender morsels from the prey buffet before snuggling them back down, safe and dry beneath her.
April 2, 2024: Today’s prey buffet included a sizeable opossum!
March 30, 2024: DN18 snoozing, DNF pulls covers up – https://youtu.be/5Nbq_-YUu80?si=YIlTzGLSi5xZlMnA. March 30 was cute overload all day long! I loved the wonderful looks at DN18 – sweet eagle dreams! – and DNF pulling the covers up at 3:40. A lovely and tender video.
April 2, 2024: DNF has fuzzy slippers!
March 30, 2024: DN17 watches Mom and Dad have a stick fight, so it decides to mimic them! – https://youtu.be/pfI8SlBSIho?si=BrIHe4joeThi3sNn. DNF pogos into the nest with a very large stick! DN17 and DN18 are hiding from the shade beneath her parasol pantaloons, but she grabs the stick and a tango begins: DNF’s beak on one side and Mr. North’s talons on the other. Mr. North switches sides and the two carry the stick towards the edge of the nest, away from the eaglets. It’s hard to believe they might be perching on it in seven weeks or so! Should the stick go here? DN17 appears to be watching with great interest as its parents work to get the stick just right! At 1:22, the little eaglet appears to mimic them as it grabs and lifts a corn husk, moving it from one side of the egg cup to the other: a look at how watching and interacting with parents and siblings stimulates eaglet instincts and behavior!
The dictionary defines instinct as a set of behaviors that are unlearned and set in motion as the result of some environmental trigger. The boundaries between reflex and instinct can be very fuzzy and eagles pile learning on top of behavior as they get better at tasks like nest building, flying, hunting, and feeding. Something in Mr. North and DNF’s sticky behavior unlocked DN17’s own stick obsession. A life-long sticky journey has just begun! If you’d like to see a longer version of this video, follow this link: https://youtu.be/FFWpKv-3xLI?si=ZUlwep3yto9chnxb.
Decorah Geese
April 1, 2024: Intruder Goose lays an egg on N2B while getting attacked – https://youtu.be/PkLaUJHYTFM?si=Ekg-uE6RxRP0AiFO. Warning: this video has some pretty intense biting and pulling, and one of MG’s eggs is lost. Mother Goose on N2B is on her eggs when a intruder tries to land. She lays an egg while the residents defend their nest by hissing, pushing, pulling, and biting. Mother Goose rolls the intruder’s egg beneath her and incubates it, but one of her eggs is kicked out of the bowl during the melee. It eventually rolls out of the tree.
Great Spirit Bluff
April 2, 2024: Peregrine Falcon Poppy, banded by RRP Director John Howe in 2023 at US Bank in La Crosse.
April 1, 2024: Young Banded Female Falcon V/89 – https://youtu.be/OH2kzDrJq08?si=A7NH3zZEkyoH3zdq. RRP Director John Howe banded female falcon ‘Poppy’ at US Bank La Crosse last year, which makes her a year old. She probably won’t lay eggs – egg-laying has been documented in immature falcons, but it is very rare. Still, she is happy to check out the nest box and perhaps get a free meal back on her old stomping grounds!
The Raptor Resource Project