Put up your feet and relax – it’s time for NestFlix! Today, we have videos from Trempealeau and Fort St. Vrain, and an Odds and Ends about getting involved with nature in your community! Tick-tock, egg-clock: if DNF sticks to her usual schedule, we’ll see our first egg in just 13 days or so. I hope you are as eggcited as we are! Time flies when you’re watching eagles and falcons…
Trempealeau Eagles
February 3, 2025: Love is in the air on the mating branch – https://youtu.be/H2kRX6BEZ8c?si=EXe9ccO3g_8ie0ny. A classic example of eagle copulation, including duetting, clearly signaled interest in bonding, and a bit of a rouse by Mrs. T at 1:00. We don’t know why female eagles tend to rouse after copulation, but we’ve seen it at all the nests we watch. Here’s a video from 2017 that shows something similar! Go to 4:47 to see it: https://youtu.be/7G86WnrAaLg?si=bh2dZabc1FFtGw2w.
February 3, 2025: A glimpse of Mrs. T’s developing brood patch.We can see Mrs. T’s developing brood patch in the image above. You won’t see a bare patch of skin, but she clearly has fewer feathers about halfway down her breast. This bare patch of skin allows her to incubate eggs through sub-zero temperatures and helps to regulate the number of eggs she lays. More here: https://www.raptorresource.org/2025/02/03/what-is-a-brood-patch/.
February 2, 2025: Mr. T brings a long stick into the nest – https://youtu.be/pP_FEZitPcE?si=-fgc5vYVXqKdrlpR. Mr. T flies into the nest with a long stick and tries to place it under the missus’ watchful eye! He clearly has a plan for this stick and won’t stop until it’s in place! Finally satisfied at 1:44, he turns his eagle eyes to other areas that need attention: grass that needs to be fine-tuned, sticks that could be placed just a little bit better, and twigs that need to be whittled down. An eagletects work is never done! https://youtu.be/l8Rm_lj4i5I?si=83RDfhKGGP5bV7-R.
Diction-aerie Word of the Day: Eagletecture. Decorah Dad was known for his incredible construction skills, but this word can be applied to any eagle that has nest construction OCD. Mr. T certainly fits the bill! | ea·gle·tec·ture.
February 2, 2025: Mr. T and his messy beak!February 2, 2025: Close-up Mr T and his messy beak – https://youtu.be/Y4KidwnZFXY?si=T_uuAaQ1HpQMKl3x. The video opens with a close-up of Mr. T and his feathery nare bling. He seems intensely focused on something up above – another bird, perhaps – and it’s quite interesting to watch him focus his attention and his eyes on whatever he’s watching. A lovely portrait of a handsome eagle!
Xcel Energy Fort St. Vrain Eagles
Ma FSV brings a large branch to the nest. She used to begin laying eggs in mid-February, but since she took a new mate, she’s dropped back to late February. We’ll see what happens this year!February 3, 2025: FSV Pa fetches a stick – https://youtu.be/JDitOwu4WUo?si=E3hAR0jCdsRK2bVj. From snow and cold to windy plains! Like the Norths and the Ts, Ma and Pa will soon be egg-specting! She’s working on the nest when he flies in with a very wonky stick at 36 seconds. He attempts to place it, but she takes control of it at 53 seconds and doesn’t seem inclined to give it back!
Decorah Canada Geese
February 2, 2025: Canada Geese checked out N1 and N2B today! HM was not happy about the N2B check…February 2, 2025: Geese checking out N1 and N2B – https://youtu.be/Ov23RJLcCws?si=YlNvXz63EpC6IGQv. Was HM happy about geese in N1? He was not! https://youtu.be/adpDz4_tD8o?si=ZU4ipl66yBSZQ5S7. When we did camera work last year, we noticed that the Canada Goose nest in N2B had largely disintegrated. Geese will take over nests that other birds build, but they don’t construct nests out of sticks. So we rebuilt the nest! We’ve built Peregrine Falcon and American Kestrel nest boxes, and Bald Eagle nests. But 2025 might mark our first Canada Goose nest! I wonder what our next species will be…
Did you know that the Giant Canada Goose almost became extinct? Learn more about that here: https://www.startribune.com/rochester-giant-canada-goose-mayo-extinct/601181157?utm_source=gift.
Odds and Ends
I’m often asked how people can make a difference. If you can, I encourage you to get involved in something locally: a ‘Friends of’ group, a clean-up, a beautification club – these kinds of groups have many names, but they are generally working to improve the environment by picking up trash, building community support for a place, and/or planting and landscaping to benefit wildlife. It’s a nice thing to do that also puts you in touch with like-minded people. While the genesis of this story is sad, here’s a good example, as well as a reminder to pick up line whenever you can: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/injured-blue-heron-inspires-community-creek-clean-up.