What are we looking forward to this week? Mrs. T still hasn’t laid her first egg yet, which is making me wonder whether we have a new Mr. or Mrs. T! I would be surprised if she didn’t lay this week, especially given the amount of time she’s spent loafing around the nest recently. Go Mr. and Mrs. T! https://www.raptorresource.org/trempealeau-eagles/.
Mrs. and Mr. T. She’s at left, he’s at right.
The Mississippi Flyway and Castle Rock eyrie cams are both back online. Watch for falcons at Castle Rock – and the rest of our sites! – and migrants on the Mississippi Flyway. the spring tide of birds is beginning to flow up the Mississippi Flyway, which means we’re seeing Bald Eagles, American White Pelicans, and Bufflehead Ducks. Enjoy the last of winter’s coyotes while you can, since they won’t be able to cross the ice much longer! https://www.raptorresource.org/birdcams/flyway-cam/ and https://www.raptorresource.org/peregrine-falcons/.
Looking to catch up on our birds? We’ve got videos and news from Decorah North, Trempealeau, Xcel Energy Fort St. Vrain, the Mississippi Flyway and Decorah. Put your feet up and get ready to enjoy some NestFlix!
Decorah North Nest
March 3, 2025: A glimpse of DNF’s two eggs. The nest is soft, cozy, and deep!
March 1, 2025: 4pm shift change, good look at the eggs – https://youtu.be/oVauKu70G2E?si=DuA3C5LiS0EDMYzd. Mr. North carefully gets up and steps out of the nest bowl before flying off, leaving us with a wonderful view of the eggs. DNF flies in at 2:17 and tucks the eggs under her, shimmying from side to side to get them placed just right. The nest looks soft and beautiful in the warm golden light.
Note that DNF is facing west toward the general prevailing direction of the wind. She and Mr. North have built a nice berm to protect them, and her streamlined figure is less likely to be suddenly rocked or flipped up by the wind. While she and Mr. North are incubation professionals, even new parents build nests that minimize wind and maximize warmth. The nest looks so cozy that I wouldn’t mind taking a nap in it!
February 28, 2025: A ring-necked pheasant near the North nest
February 28, 2025: 3 male Ring-necked Pheasant forage below, as Mr. incubates – https://youtu.be/mD6pXMDKnEs?si=dqRs86Sidm8lhcBM. We love our North nest neighbors! Foraging below the nest isn’t without risk, but the pheasants are staying close to cover! We had to mow around the area to bring a lift in, but we intentionally left some of the multiflora for north nest neighbors that use it for cover and food. Yes, someone should check my head for that! Go to 3:30 for a really nice look at the pheasants and 4:55 for a nice look at Mr. North from above.
Trempealeau Eagles
March 2, 2025: Mrs. T beautiful close-ups – https://youtu.be/2wpgX5HaOjY?si=MMJVlJhPaHIQQd0r. Exactly what the title says: five minutes and 32 seconds of wonderful close-ups followed by a nice look at Mrs. T perched near the nest.
March 2, 2025: Mr & MrsT guarding, copulation, maybe a visitor – https://youtu.be/Zi94-tDWKgY?si=0_my8wLkubQHlh29. Exactly what the description says! It’s a fascinating look at the T’s world!
Xcel Energy Fort St. Vrain Eagles
February 28, 2025: A third egg for Ma and Pa FSV!
February 28, 2025: Xcel Energy Fort St. Vrain Bald Eagles Egg #3 – https://youtu.be/MJs_w2qxVg4?si=OfI4pxAg2HZCHane. Ma FSV laid her third egg at 8:12 PM! Peace gives us a nice view of the eggs here: https://youtu.be/eW5sKGoXQq8?si=RHao-aCZiMjdJ2Gj. Go to 2:29 to see Ma’s egg triangle and watch for Pa’s egg line when he’s incubating!
Hatch generally happens 39 days after egg #3 here. We think the first egg will hatch on April 2 and we’re starting hatch watch on March 31. The first eaglet to hatch this year will be FSV51. It’s been very warm and Ma and Pa were able to spend a lot of time, relatively speaking, off their eggs in early incubation. We’re crossing our talons for eaglet ‘twins’!
Mississippi Flyway
March 3, 2025: Ducks and American White Pelicans on the Flyway
February 27, 2025: bieliki amerykańskie na zamarzniętej rzece (Bald Eagles on a Frozen River): https://youtu.be/VipRc_1HX9o?si=_ydS4c8Wo5D7202j. The river is starting to melt across large stretches and birds are moving north! We’re seeing Bald Eagles, American White Pelicans, and what I believe are bufflehead ducks! While most of the action remains south of us, the great spring tide of birds is starting to flow north.
Decorah Eagles
March 3, 2025: HM lands on N1, the Y, good to see her home – https://youtu.be/LGjI7wdwizk?si=5hyik7navybCQtFw. The video opens with HM on N1. She looks around the nest before hopping up to the Y at 48 seconds. At 2:19,we get the classic view: HM in front of the barn, queen of all she surveys. She preens and looks around before flying off at 4:11.
March 3, 2025: HM at N1
HM and HD are most likely incubating eggs now. I asked our camera operators if they were seeing them together for any length of time, and they replied that they haven’t for a while now. We’ve also been seeing waves of Canada Geese migrating through. Goose couples have checked out N1 and N2B, although no one has stayed for very long. Last year, geese laid their first egg on March 19!
Odds and Ends
The new members of the Council On Environmental Quality are proposing the Removal of National Environmental Policy Act regulations. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was one of the first laws ever written that establishes the broad national framework for protecting our environment.
I’ll be writing a little more on what that might mean, but if you don’t want to wait, comment on the proposal here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/25/2025-03014/removal-of-national-environmental-policy-act-implementing-regulations. This is one of those things that sounds very boring but it pretty important.
It’s also worth keeping an eye on efforts to remove legal protection for wildlife, including the Endangered Species Act. It would be a hollow gesture indeed to celebrate the designation of the Bald Eagle as our official national bird while gutting a law that was critical to recovering it: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26022025/republicans-take-aim-at-endangered-species-act-marine-mammal-protection-act/.
The Raptor Resource Project